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Remembering Nick Mileti, Founding Owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers

Nick Mileti, the founding owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers who also owned several other Cleveland sports teams at various times, passed away on August 21 at the age of 93. Mileti was born in Cleveland, and he was inducted in the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. The Alumni Center at Bowling Green State University (his undergraduate alma mater) is named in his honor. He graduated from Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1956, and then practiced law in the Cleveland area before purchasing the Cleveland Arena and the Cleveland Arena's main tenant, the Cleveland Barons hockey team, in 1968.

Mileti was the driving force behind the creation of the Cleveland Cavaliers expansion team in 1970. Cleveland Arena was not big enough to accommodate the Cavaliers long term, so Mileti bought land in Richfield--which is located between Cleveland and Akron--and spearheaded construction of Richfield Coliseum. At its opening in 1974, Richfield Coliseum had a seating capacity of over 20,000 for basketball, making it one of the largest--if not the largest--indoor arenas in the country at that time.

The Cavaliers played their home games in Richfield Coliseum from 1974-94. Richfield Coliseum hosted the 1981 NBA All-Star Game, during which the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 123-120. Cleveland forward Mike Mitchell scored 14 points for the victors as an injury replacement for Atlanta forward Dan Roundfield. Julius Erving scored a team-high 18 points for the East, but Nate Archibald received All-Star Game MVP honors after contributing nine points, a game-high nine assists, and five rebounds. Larry Bird played his final NBA game in Richfield Coliseum, and he later called it his favorite NBA arena.

Mileti sold his ownership stake in the Cavaliers in 1980. During Mileti's tenure with the Cavaliers, the team improved from 15-67 in the 1970-71 expansion season to 49-33 in 1975-76, when the Cavaliers not only made the playoffs for the first time but advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after the "Miracle at Richfield" win over a strong Washington Bullets team led by Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, and Phil Chenier.

My cousins and I enjoyed going to Cavaliers games at Richfield Coliseum during the era when the Cavaliers featured Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Ron Harper, and Larry Nance. The Cavaliers did not win an NBA title until 2016, but those late 1980s/early 1990s teams were very good and very entertaining.

Mileti owned the Cleveland Indians (now known as the Cleveland Guardians) from 1972-76, and he is justifiably credited with keeping the team in Cleveland after there had been rumblings that the previous owner might relocate the franchise. Cleveland fans wish that Mileti had been able to save the Cleveland Browns from Art Modell! Miletti was a co-owner of radio station WWWE from 1972-76 as well. The 50,000 watt clear channel station carried play by play for the Cavaliers and the Indians, and remains a regional sports powerhouse today.

In a statement released by the Cavaliers, Jim Chones--who starred for the Cavaliers before winning the 1980 NBA championship with the L.A. Lakers--declared, "I have often heard people say, 'It's not how long you live, but what you live for.' Nick was rewarded with longevity because he touched many in his mission to make Cleveland great again. His voice was soft but confident, demanding attention. He loved Cleveland, and Cleveland loved him."

Labels: Cleveland Cavaliers, Nick Mileti, Richfield Coliseum

posted by David Friedman @ 4:45 PM

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