Harry Glickman

Harry Glickman, who founded the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association and was widely considered the father of professional sports in Oregon, died on Wednesday in Portland. He was 96. His death, at an assisted living center, was confirmed by his son, Marshall. Harry Glickman was born in Portland on May 13, 1924, and raised there by his mother, Bessie, who worked in the garment industry, after she and his father, Sam, divorced. He enrolled at the University of Oregon to study journalism, but left to spend three years with the Seventh Army’s 12th Armored Division during World War II. He was elevated to the rank of staff sergeant while serving in Europe, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He gravitated to the business of promoting sports. He staged boxing events and lured the Harlem Globetrotters and the National Football League to Portland for exhibitions. Mr. Glickman was the president of a company called Oregon Sports Attractions and, in 1960, founded a minor-league hockey team, the Portland Buckaroos, which went on to win three league championships in front of adoring crowds. As the N.B.A. sought to expand in 1970, he lined up several wealthy investors to buy one of the league’s new franchises for $3.7 million. The team continued to be enormously popular, selling out 814 straight home games between 1977 and 1995 and winning the Western Conference championship in 1990 and 1992. Even after Mr. Glickman retired, he remained an active presence around the organization. He was president emeritus until he died. In addition to his son Marshall, Mr. Glickman is survived by his wife, Joanne (Matin) Glickman; his daughters, Jennifer Glickman-Hett and Lynn Glickman; and three grandchildren.