From THN's Archive: Jackets Lose Special Owner

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Jackets Lose Special Owner - May 27, 2008 - Vol. 61, Iss. 28

IN THE BIG-BUSINESS world of modern professional sports, the love affair between the city of Columbus and Blue Jackets majority owner John H. McConnell was unique.

The Jackets, seven seasons into their existence, have never come close to making the playoffs. They haven’t even played any meaningful games, really.

But when McConnell was shown on the scoreboard, puffing his cigar in his private suite, it never failed to draw a roar from the crowd in Nationwide Arena, sometimes a standing ovation. Louder than the cheers for Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev or Jody Shelley, louder than the cheers for coach Ken Hitchcock.

“As a hockey player, you wanted to tap your stick on the ice every time they showed him,” said Jackets winger Dan Fritsche.

McConnell, 84, died April 25 after a long illness.

“It was special here between Mr. McConnell and the fans,” said NHL commission Gary Bettman, who attended McConnell’s memorial service May 7.

“It was special because fans understood what he did for them. They understood the NHL wouldn’t be here if it were not for that man. And they knew his intentions were pure.”

McConnell put down $80 million to buy an expansion franchise in 1997, at a time when it looked like Columbus – a sprawling city with a passionate fan base – was on the verge of forever losing its chance to become “major league.”

“I didn’t do it to make money,” said McConnell before the start of this season. “I did it as a gift to this city.”

Everybody believed him, too, right on down to the most cynical of skeptics, because people in central Ohio knew of McConnell’s dynamic life story. Columbus Dispatch columnist Michael Arace described it best: “It began in a house that did not have electricity. It ended in a hospital where he donated a tower.”

What a story it is.

In 1955, McConnell borrowed $600 against his 1952 Oldsmobile to buy a load of steel. He had $1,200 in his checking account and one heck of an idea.

“He drove out of Pughtown, West Virginia, with a load of steel in the back of his car and turned it into a multi-billion industry,” said former Columbus mayor Greg Lashutka.

That industry was Worthington Industries, which revolutionized the steel business and became a Fortune 500 company with more than 8,000 employees.

McConnell is one of America’s great business success stories, but not just because of how it started or all the money he made.

In the early years of Worthington Industries, McConnell would spend his mornings in a salesman’s suit and his afternoons and evenings in a factory worker’s garb. Even after the company was printing money, he had close friends in the board room and on the assembly line.

“Mr. Mac didn’t see blue collar or white collar,” said family friend John Kasich, a former U.S. Senator. “He saw people and he treated them all the same.”

McConnell drove a Lexus, but it was 10 years old. He loved martinis, cigars, horses, country music…and the Blue Jackets. He was the everyman’s multi-millionaire.

In fact, nobody could remember the last time anybody called him “John.” It was “Mr. Mac.”

McConnell’s philanthropy was staggering, too.

He funded a sprawling new building at a local hospital to focus on heart health and research. Price tag: $15 million. He helped keep the Columbus Zoo afloat with a series of contributions.

Some of his giving was less known – the $30,000 he gave to help refurbish an ice rink in a small town 40 miles east of Columbus; a $10,000 check he wrote on the spot for a young soft ball player selling candy bars to support her league.

“You’re not going to meet a more genuine man,” Hitchcock said. “His legacy is all over this city. Everybody has a Mr. Mac story.”

The Jackets players and coaches all have them. After the first season, he approached fan-favorite Tyler Wright and asked if a private plane would help the club.

“The next year, we had one,” Wright said.

McConnell passed on a football scholarship at West Virginia University to work in the steel mills. He was a passionate sports fan and, in his later years, a rabid hockey fan.

When the Jackets needed a lift, McConnell made his way to the dressing room for a brief chat.

“Honestly, Mr. Mac was more like a friend and a grandfather to a lot of the players,” said GM Scott Howson.

That’s why saying goodbye was so difficult.

The Blue Jackets are in no danger of being sold or moved. McConnell’s son, John P. McConnell, becomes the majority owner.

“Mr. Mac probably would have liked it if we won more often,” said Rick Nash during his eulogy, “and we will, Mr. Mac, I promise.

“We know you’ll be with us when we hit the ice next season.”

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