Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (August 14, 1923 – August 2, 2006) was an American educator, sportsman, and philanthropist.

Early life

He was the son of banker Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. and Eleanor Widener Dixon (1891–1966), a member of the wealthy

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the Unite ...

from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The Dixons built "Ronaele Manor" ("Eleanor" spelled backward), an Elizabethan mansion, in

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roug ...

, where Fitz Jr. grew up. Fitz Jr. graduated from Philadelphia's

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in ...

, then

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, after which he returned to Episcopal to teach English, French, and Health; he also coached the school's squash, tennis, and 120-pound football teams and served as director of athletics and assistant to the headmaster.

Career

In 1971, on the death of his mother's childless surviving brother George Dunton Widener Jr., Fitz Jr. inherited his uncle's entire estate, including the

Erdenheim Farm Erdenheim Farm is a 450-acre (1.82 km2) working farm in Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located just outside the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, it is bordered by the Morris A ...

Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania Whitemarsh Township is a home-rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It retains its former classification of " Township" in its official name despite being a home rule municipality. The population was 19,707 at the ...

, and took over the running of the Widener Foundation. The Widener fortune, amassed in the meat-packing and streetcar businesses, saw Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. listed in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' Magazine's 400 Richest Americans in 1985, 1991, and 1995. Dixon bred

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

at Erdenheim Farm, and was a member and one-time Chairman of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Dixon was also a patron of

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

, having owned such horses as Jet Run and Rhum IV, who competed and medaled in domestic, Pan American, World Cup, and Olympic events.

Professional sports

Dixon became an owner of and investor in Philadelphia professional sports franchises, including the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, the Flyers, and the

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

, but his most notable sports investment was the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. He served as vice chairman for the Flyers when they won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. He purchased the

from Irv Kosloff for $8 million on May 28, 1976, and a few months later brought Julius "Dr. J." Erving to the team for $6.6 million. In his brief stint as owner, the team made it to the NBA finals twice but never won a championship. He sold the team to

Harold Katz Harold Katz (May 5, 1937 – January 25, 2025) was an American businessman. He was from the Greater Philadelphia area. He attended Sharon Senior High School and received an alumni hall of fame award in 2024. Life and career Katz bought the Phil ...

in 1981.

Philanthropy

One of his best-known civic accomplishments was the 1976 purchase of the iconic ''

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

'' sculpture that now stands at the head of John F. Kennedy Plaza in

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

. Dixon purchased the statue from the

Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. Indiana is mostly known for his iconic image LOVE which was first created in 1964 in the form of a card. India ...

studio after the artist had removed it from the city when it failed to come up with the $45,000 he had sought for its purchase. Dixon bought the sculpture for $35,000 and donated it to the city. The plaza has since come to be known popularly as

LOVE Park LOVE Park, officially known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, is a public park located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The park is across from the Philadelphia City Hall and serves as a visual terminus for the Benjamin Frank ...

. He served on the boards of the Fairmount Park Commission, the Philadelphia Art Commission, and the

Delaware River Port Authority The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the state governments ...

, and was at times chairman of all three. He also served on the boards of several universities, including as chairman at

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across s ...

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Philadelphia College of Art Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urb ...

, and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. The Dixon Halls, North and South, at Widener University were enabled by his gift to establish an alternative apartment living experience for upper-class students. Temple University's Dixon Hall, built in 1983 on the university's Ambler campus, is named in his honor. Dixon Hall, a residence hall at

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher ...

, is also named after him. He was also selected in 1982 as the founding chairman of the board of governors of the State System of Higher Education, which was founded to bring together several former teachers' colleges and

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a Public university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...

. In 1993, the system's headquarters, the

Dixon University Center Dixon University Center was a former higher education center made up of college and university-level programs from a consortium of schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The fa ...

, was named in his honor. The Dixon Trophy, awarded each season by the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

to the league's most successful program, is also named for him.

Personal life

In 1952, he married Edith Bruen Robb, the daughter of David B. Robb. Together, they had two children. Dixon died of

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

on August 2, 2006, in

Abington, Pennsylvania Abington is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, coterminous with the ZIP Code 19001. Places of interest * Jefferson Abington Hospital * Abington Senior High Scho ...

, near Philadelphia, where he was interred at Saint Thomas' Church Cemetery in Whitemarsh.

References

External links

*
Obituary
at the ''Chestnut Hill Local''
Obituary
at 6abc.com

at

Obituary
at the ''New York Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Fitz Eugene Jr. 1923 births 2006 deaths Harvard University alumni NBA executives Philadelphia 76ers owners National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners Philadelphia Flyers executives Philadelphia Flyers owners People from Hancock County, Maine Stanley Cup champions Widener family Members of the Philadelphia Club People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Deaths from melanoma in the United States People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Eagles owners