Harry T. Mangurian Jr. (October 1, 1926 – October 19, 2008) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

Mangurian was born to an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

immigrant Harry Sr. and his wife Ethel Roberts of Rochester, New York. Following the outbreak of World War II, as soon as he reached the legal age Mangurian enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations 1943–1946. Following his discharge, Mangurian returned home to work in the family's retail furniture business which he would build into a national chain. Following an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

he eventually merged the business with General Portland cement company. He also acquired First National Bank of Rochester, serving as chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. Taking up residence in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in 1969 he purchased the jet charter company, Southeastern Jet Corporation, a business he operated for more than thirty years. His Drexel Investments, a real estate construction and leasing firm, is based in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

Sports teams ownership

In 1977, Mangurian became a partner in the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

of the

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

(NBA), buying out the share of Paul Snyder, who had owned the team for five years but was facing public feuds with the other sports teams using

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball, Canisius Golden Griffins (Nationa ...

. At the end of the 1978 season, by which point he had effectively dismantled the team in a successful effort to break the Braves' lease on the Aud, he and his partner John Y. Brown Jr. negotiated a franchise swap of the Braves team for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. After one season, Mangurian bought out Brown and as the franchise's owner saw the Celtics sign stars

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

, Kevin McHale and

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

. In the 1980–81 Boston Celtics season, his team won the

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

. In 1983, he sold the club due to poor relations with

Delaware North Delaware North is an American multinational food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 5 ...

, owner of the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

. Mangurian also became involved with the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

(NASL) as part of the ownership of the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

Thoroughbred horse racing

After becoming involved in horse racing in 1966, in 1970 he acquired the former Tartan Farms in Ocala. Renamed Mockingbird Farm, he oversaw its development into a major

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 ...

breeding and racing operation. He notably raced two-time

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

winner, Desert Vixen. In 1979, the filly was inducted in the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

. Mangurian also notably owned Valid Appeal, who went on from a career in racing to become a successful sire at

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

in Florida. Mangurian was a member of

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

, the Thoroughbred Club of America, Inc., and served on the board of directors of the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

. He also served on the board of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (F.T.B.O.A.) for thirty years and founded the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company. Mangurian bred 1992

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

winner, Gilded Time and was named 1988 and 2000 Breeder of the Year by the Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association In 1995, Mangurian was inducted in the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame. In 2002, he received the national Eclipse Award of Merit, the American Thoroughbred horse racing industry's highest honor. In his mid-seventies, Mangurian cut back on his racing activities. In 2000, he sold Mockingbird Farm (now Winding Oaks Farm) and dispersed virtually all of his breeding stock. In 1999, Mangurian established a private foundation for philanthropic purposes. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the United States, his initial million dollar donation to the "New York Heroes Fund" helped inspire fellow horsemen such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to contribute millions to that cause.Chicago Barn to Wire information on NTRA charities and the "New York Heroes Fund"Archived copy
/ref>

References

Harry T. Mangurian Jr. at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangurian, Harry T. Jr. 1926 births 2008 deaths American aviation businesspeople American bankers American construction businesspeople American people of Armenian descent Philanthropists from New York (state) American racehorse owners and breeders American businesspeople in real estate Boston Celtics executives Boston Celtics owners Eclipse Award winners Buffalo Braves owners Businesspeople from Rochester, New York NBA executives North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives Basketball people from New York (state) 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II