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Friday, January 18, 2008

Georgia Frontiere Dies

Georgia Frontiere passed away today at the age of 80. She had been hospitalized due to suffering from breast cancer.
I do however have to say she was extremely detrimental to my early football life. I saw my first football game when my Vikings came to town and played the Rams in Anaheim stadium (I have no idea if that was the name at the time). This is one of my earliest memories and also one of my fondest as it was something I got to share with my dad. I never again got the opportunity as Frontiere opted to move the Rams to St. Louis. In what, at the time appeared to be a wholly self serving move. She however deserves all the credit in the world, it ended up being an extremely beneficial move for all those involved (except the Southern California fan). It was believed to be a financial mistake, to move the team to an area that had already failed. The actual results were quite unexpected. The city of St. Louis funded the stadium at 260 million dollar price tag. The team would eventually go on to win a championship. That team came to be known as “the greatest show on turf”.
My own personal feeling aside, she made an amazing contribution as a leader of that franchise. Considering she inherited the franchise from her husband Carroll Rosenbloom in 1979. It would be nice to see some of the owners in the NFL, who actually chose to purchase their teams. Put in the work to advance the cause of those teams as much as Frontiere did hers.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said of Frontiere “Georgia Frontiere was the first lady of sports in her native St. Louis. She returned pro football to St. Louis and brought the city its first Super Bowl championship. She had a deep love for her Rams and all the people who contributed to the success of her franchise and the NFL, especially former players. Her philanthropic work was legendary and wide ranging, but her special focus was retired NFL players and the arts. She was a talented and wonderful person. On behalf of the entire NFL, we extend our sympathy and prayers to her family and the Rams organization.”

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