Wizards Owner Pollin Inducted into GW Hall of Fame

Abe Pollin refuses to give up. From bringing basketball and hockey to D.C., building a stadium in the heart of a political town, and devoting himself to the Washington Wizards to this day, it seems as if Pollin just does not listen to critics.

The 86-year-old Wizards owner (formerly known as the Washington Bullets) was inducted into the GW Sports Executive Hall of Fame for the GW School of Business Sports at the Smith Center on Monday afternoon for his accomplishments as a sports executive in the D.C. area, and as a GW graduate.

“We’re going to continue working ‘til I quit, and I’m not going to quit ‘til I win a championship,” Pollin said in his remarks.

Pollin has spent a lifetime improving D.C. sports, and said that he wants to do more for the city.

“I’ll do whatever I can to win a championship for this town and the fans,” he said.

Pollin, who graduated from the GW School of Business in 1945, suffers from a debilitating and rare disease, which he explained keeps him in a wheel chair. He did not specify the illness, and it has not been announced publicly. His words were soft at the Smith Center, but gave a strong message of hope to his fans.

“I won’t quit ‘til I win a championship,” he repeated during his remarks.

Pollin has spent his career with this same “never give up” mentality.

Pollin brought the Wizards to D.C. when he fueled the building of the Verizon Center, which is arguably the center of sports entertainment in the Capital. The Center changed the face of Chinatown, and improved the overall growth of the city. All the while, Pollin said he was told that he was crazy, and it could never be done.

The sports scene of D.C. is due in large part to Pollin, as he brought the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to the city in 1973.

Before the Verizon Center was built, the neighborhood of Gallery Place and Chinatown in the district was abandoned. Pollin fought and eventually got the city to agree to let him build there, but there was no money in the city to fund the venture. Pollin insisted that the stadium had to be in D.C. Pollin said he would not consider moving the stadium to Baltimore because D.C. was his home. He self-funded a large portion of the project, while being told he was crazy at every step, according to Pollin.

He said in an interview that when the stadium was completed he wanted the stadium to be a catalyst to turn D.C. around. Pollin added that the city had been so good to him that he wanted to give back.

The Verizon Center now houses the Washington Wizards, the Washington Capitals, as well as other sports and entertainment events. It also sparked an commercial interest in Chinatown which now thrives with businesses.

Pollin was honored for his accomplishments at the Smith Center around a crowd of 140 people. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, presented the honor to Pollin, who Stern said rescued the Wizards by moving them downtown. He added that Pollin was an essential part of the league.

“Abe Pollin represents everything that is good about our league,” Stern said.

Stern said Pollin’s status as a GW alumnus will serve as a testament to students at GW, and give recognition toward the school’s sports management program.

“He recognizes the whole sports business program at GW and brings attention to a school that has been at the edge of sports and reporting… and finding jobs in the area,” Stern said.

Pollin expressed gratitude in accepting the honor. “I feel a part of this university. It was maybe in the air,” he said. “I always felt like I was important enough to be a part of this beautiful university.”

Stern said that in these economic times it’s going to be hard on everyone, including the NBA. He added that Pollin had been a huge part of the solution as he has been involved in talks surrounding how to help the NBA thrive.

GW President Steven Knapp was present at the ceremony, and he compared the future renovations of the Smith Center to the ventures of creating the Verizon Center.

“In two years this will be a new place,” Knapp said. “It’s a smaller version of what we see in the Verizon Center.”

Previous inductees into GW’s Sports Executives Hall of Fame include Colonial alumni Ted Lerner, managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals, and Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees.