Earl Marin Foreman (March 29, 1924 – January 23, 2017) was an American lawyer and sports executive. Foreman practiced law in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He was the owner of the short-lived

Washington Whips The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association ( USA). The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington Whips were the Aberdeen F.C. from Scotland. Th ...

professional soccer club of the NASL and a minority owner of the Baltimore Bullets franchise in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. He was owner of the

Washington Caps The Washington Caps were an American Basketball Association team from 1969 through 1970. The franchise had previously been the Oakland Oaks. From 1970 through 1976 the team played as the Virginia Squires. Origins With the formation of the ABA in ...

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, ...

of the American Basketball Association. At one time, he also owned an interest in the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Early life

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Foreman served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was a medic. He graduated from

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland L ...

Basketball

On August 29, 1969, Foreman, with Thomas Shaheen and Louis Diamond, purchased the Oakland Oaks professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association. The group inherited a championship-caliber nucleus led by

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

, whom Foreman called "the hottest attraction in basketball." The franchise also was heavily indebted, however, a situation that would haunt the team until its demise in 1976 just prior to the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

. Foreman and his two co-owners paid $2.6 million for the team and moved it to Washington, D.C. where it became the

for the 1969–1970 ABA season. The Caps brought on Al Bianchi as head coach and finished that season with a record of 44–40, good for third place in the Western Division. The Caps lost in the first round of the

1970 ABA Playoffs The 1970 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1969-1970 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Stars, f ...

to the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

, 4 games to 3. For the 1970–71 season, Foreman moved the Caps to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and the team became the

. Strapped for cash due to debts, the Squires traded

Warren Armstrong Warren Jabali (August 29, 1946 – July 13, 2012) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1968 to 1975. Early career Born Warren Edward Armstrong, Jabali changed his name whi ...

to the Kentucky Colonels for a draft pick and cash, and sold Barry to the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

for $250,000. The Squires finished in first place in the Eastern Division with a 55–29 record. In the

1971 ABA Playoffs The 1971 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1970-1971 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Utah Stars defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four ...

, the Squires defeated the New York Nets 4 games to 2 in the first round, but lost the Eastern Division Finals to the Kentucky Colonels 4 games to 2. With the conclusion of the season, on April 6, 1971, the Squires signed future star

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

to a 4-year, $500,000 contract. The Squires finished the 1971–72 season with a record of 45–39, good for second place in the Eastern Division. The Squires defeated

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

4 games to 0 in the first round of the

1972 ABA Playoffs The 1972 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1971–1972 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion New York Nets, four ...

but then lost the full seven-game Eastern Division Finals to the New York Nets 4 games to 3. In this season,

Johnny Kerr John Graham "Red" Kerr (July 17, 1932 – February 26, 2009) was an American basketball player, coach, and color commentator. He played in the NBA from 1954 to 1966, mainly as a member of the Syracuse Nationals. He later held several coaching ...

joined the team as administrative vice president. The Squires finished the 1972–73 season with a 42–42 record which put them in third place in the Eastern Division. The Squires lost in the 1973 Eastern Division Semifinals 4 games to 1 to the Kentucky Colonels despite Erving's outstanding play. At the conclusion of the season Foreman added

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

to the Squires' roster, putting two future Hall of Famers on the same team. In August, 1973, Foreman, again motivated by the Squires' indebtedness, traded Erving and Willie Sojourner to the New York Nets for George Carter, the rights to

Kermit Washington Kermit Alan Washington (born September 17, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. Washington was not a highly-cove ...

and $1 million. Discussing his sales and trades of the Squires' best players, Foreman said, "It's not a pleasant thing to hear, but I did what I had to do out of necessity. This is not a public utility. I can't ask for a fare increase when things go bad." The Squires signed center

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

but then sold Nater to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

for a draft pick and $300,000. Just after Gervin played in the

1974 ABA All-Star Game The seventh American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 30, 1974 at Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia before an audience at 10,624. Babe McCarthy of the Kentucky Colonels coached the East, while Joe Mullaney of the Utah Stars ...

(which the Squires hosted), it was announced that Foreman had sold Gervin to the San Antonio Spurs for $225,000. Legal action ensued and Gervin ended up with the Spurs. By this point, the constant selling off of the team's star players had a major effect on the Squires' dwindling fan base. The team finished the 1973–74 season with a record of 28–56 which was good for fourth place in the Eastern Division, but the Squires lost in the first round of the

1973 ABA Playoffs The 1973 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, fou ...

to the New York Nets, 4 games to 1. During the ensuing off season Barry Parkhill of the Squires, angry about bouncing paychecks, filed suit against Foreman, the Squires and the ABA for $24,000 in back pay and $360,000 for anticipated breach of contract. Jack Ankerson became the Squires' General Manager. The ABA then purchased the Squires franchise. In its last two years, the debt-ridden Squires finished 15–69 both seasons, the worst records in ABA history, and failed to make the playoffs. The team came to an end on May 11, 1976 after its failure to pay a $75,000 league assessment. Because of that, the Squires were not a part of the

that took place just weeks later.

Soccer

In 1977 through 1978, Foreman was instrumental in creating the Major Indoor Soccer League. Foreman was commissioner of the MISL from 1978 to 1985, and again in 1989.

Personal

Earl Foreman died on January 23, 2017. He was survived by his wife, Phyllis (who was the older sister of

Ed Snider Edward Malcolm Snider (January 6, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was an American business executive. He was the chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Ho ...

) and their sons, Scott, Ronald, and Stuart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, Earl 1924 births 2017 deaths People from Baltimore University System of Maryland alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Military personnel from Baltimore Maryland lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. American soccer chairmen and investors Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) Oakland Oaks executives Virginia Squires executives Washington Caps North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives Washington Whips Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commissioners 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II