John Jay Moores (born July 9, 1944, in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, as John Jay Broderick) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, and the former owner of the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB).
Biography
Early years
Moores was born in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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—the eldest son of Jack and Katherine Broderick. Jack Broderick abandoned his wife, son John, and two younger sons in 1948. In 1950, Katherine wed again, to Cyrus "Red" Moores, a photographer with the ''Corpus Christi Caller'' newspaper, and her sons were given their stepfather's name. Red Moores, by then in insurance, moved the family to
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
in 1960, and John spent his high school years there. He left
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
before graduating and became a programmer for
IBM. He later studied at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Houston Law Center.
Business
He founded
BMC Software
BMC Software, Inc. is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting, and Enterprise Software company based in Houston, Texas.
Gartner has positioned BMC as a Leader for the eighth consecutive year in Gartner' ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in 1980 and was the lead venture capital financier for
Peregrine Systems
Peregrine Systems, Inc. was an enterprise software company, founded in 1981, that sold enterprise asset management, change management, and ITIL-based IT service management software. Following an accounting scandal and bankruptcy in 2003, Peregri ...
in California starting in 1981 as well as
ServiceNow
ServiceNow is an American software company based in Santa Clara, California that develops a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. Founded in 2003 by Fred Luddy, ServiceNow is listed on the ...
, another California corporation founded in 2005. He served as a director of Peregrine from March 1989 to March 2003 and as chairman of the board from March 1990 through July 2000 and from May 2002 through March 2003, during which he cashed out between US$600 and US$630 million in Peregrine stock. He resigned as Peregrine chairman in February 2003 as part of the company's Chapter 11 reorganization. He also founded JMI Equity. In 1994 Moores purchased the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
professional baseball team from
Tom Werner
Thomas Charles Werner (born April 12, 1950) is an American television producer and businessman. Through his investment in Fenway Sports Group, he is currently chairman of both Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Red Sox.
Werner first became ...
. In 2009, he began the process of incrementally selling the Padres to a group of 12 investors, headed by
Jeff Moorad
Jeffrey S. Moorad is an American businessman and investor. He began his career as a sports agent, before serving as General Partner and CEO of MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks, and Vice-Chairman and CEO of MLB's San Diego Padres.
Player representati ...
(former sports agent and CEO of the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
) for about $500 million.
The deal fell through in 2012, and Moores instead sold the team for $800 million to a group led by
Ron Fowler
Ronald Lee Fowler (born July 23, 1944) is an American businessman. He is the vice chairman of the ownership group of the San Diego Padres franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB) and CEO of Liquid Investments Inc., a San Diego beer distributorship ...
.
He continues to operate in the IT service management market with continued investments through his
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
firm JMI Equity.
Philanthropy and activism
Organizations that Moores has supported include the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
, the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
,
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, the
San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. The orchestra is resident at Copley Symphony Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera.
History
On December 6th 1910, the ...
, San Diego Center for Children, the Boys and Girls Clubs, St. Vincent de Paul Villages, the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking fo ...
, and
The Scripps Research Institute
Scripps Research, previously known as The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institu ...
where Moores sits on the board.
His 1991 contribution of US$51 million to the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
was the largest in U.S. history to a public university. He served on the
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a public university system in Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio station (KUHF).
Th ...
Board of Regents from 1991 to 1994. Among many other philanthropic efforts, John and Becky Moores donated US$21 million to establish the
John and Rebecca Moores Cancer Center at
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
and over US$20 million to
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
.
In 1999 he was appointed Regent of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
by Governor
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...
until he resigned for unknown reasons in 2007. As UC regent, he worked to make sure
Proposition 209
Proposition 209 (also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative or CCRI) is a California ballot proposition which, upon approval in November 1996, amended the state constitution to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering r ...
(passed in 1996) was implemented. In 2005, he was elected chair of the
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidenti ...
at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
, succeeding
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
. Most recently, Moores is a member of the board of trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. The center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
and disease in the developing world.
Moores is also the founder of the River Blindness Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to research and treatment of
Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...
, the second most common cause of infectious blindness.
In 2016 Moores began negotiations to buy English soccer club
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, with a view to buying between 80% and 100% of the shares from Kuwaiti owner
Fawaz Al-Hasawi
Fawaz Mubarak Al-Hasawi (born 25 October 1968) is a Kuwaiti businessman and was the owner and chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club.
Biography Qadsia SC
Between 2010 and 2012, Fawaz was president of Qadsia SC, one of the largest sporti ...
for a reported $61.87 million. However, the deal unexpectedly collapsed at the 11th hour with both sides with no clear reason given by either party.
Personal life
In February 2008, Moores' wife Becky filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Moores gave up ownership of the family home on a golf course at
Pebble Beach, California
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...
.
[ The property overlooked the Pacific and the 18th fairway of the golf course. The divorce also prompted a major overhaul of the San Diego Padres roster, followed by the sale of Moores's majority ownership of the ]MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
team. During the divorce proceedings, Moores spent the majority of his time in Texas and refused to attend Padres and San Diego State games, while his wife regularly attended Padres games. In 2013, Moores married Dianne Rosenberg.
Honors and awards
* 1996: Donor of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors
* 1997: San Diego Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
Human Dignity Award
See also
* Moores School of Music
The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music is the music school of the University of Houston. The Moores School offers the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance ...
References
External links
University of Houston - biography
by Ron Donoho Cover story about John Moores
*Alan Zarembo
"Putting Them to the Test"
''Los Angeles Times'', January 27, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2006.
BMC Software - Corporate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moores, John
1944 births
Living people
American computer businesspeople
American philanthropists
Major League Baseball owners
Businesspeople in software
Businesspeople from San Antonio
Businesspeople from San Diego
People from Corpus Christi, Texas
San Diego Padres owners
Scripps Research
University of California regents
University of Houston alumni
University of Houston Law Center alumni
University of Houston System regents