Jay L. Ramsdell (January 30, 1964 – July 19, 1989) was the Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), a professional men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, from 1988 until his death.

Continental Basketball Association

As a ninth-grade student in 1978, Ramsdell interviewed the owner of the expansion team the Maine Lumberjacks for an article in his high school newspaper. The owner was so impressed, he invited Jay to "help out" the team on Opening Night. That night Jay was assigned to the scorer's table, and by the end of the game he was the Statistical Crew Chief. Within a week, Jay had assumed the role of the team's Director of Public Relations. Ramsdell remained with the 'Jacks until his high school graduation in 1982 when he was hired by CBA commissioner Jim Drucker as the league's Administrative Assistant. Within a year, he was the league's Director of Operations. He returned to Bangor,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, to serve as the General Manager for the Maine Windjammers in 1985–86. After that franchise folded after one season, at the age of 20, Ramsdell returned to the CBA front office as Deputy Commissioner. With the resignation of Commissioner Mike Storen in 1988, Jay Ramsdell became the youngest Commissioner in the history of professional sports when he assumed the position at the age of 24.The CBA Museum
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Death and legacy

Ramsdell and Deputy Commissioner Jerry Schemmel were on

United Airlines Flight 232 United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC ...

on July 19, 1989, and traveling from the league headquarters in Denver to the player draft in Columbus, Ohio, when the plane crash-landed in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, after losing all hydraulics. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board the flight, Ramsdell was among the 112 passengers who were killed, while Schemmel survived. In 1989, the CBA league championship trophy was named the Jay Ramsdell Trophy to honor his memory. Ramsdell was posthumously inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

References

1964 births 1989 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Iowa American sports businesspeople Continental Basketball Association commissioners People from Bangor, Maine 20th-century American businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1989 {{1960s-US-basketball-bio-stub