By John Dempsey, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) Sports broadcasting pioneer and long time White Sox co-owner Eddie Einhorn has died. The team issued a press release saying Einhorn passed away late Tuesday night in New Jersey from complications following a stroke. He was 80 years old.
Einhorn was a Northwestern Law School classmate of team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. The two men formed a partnership to buy the White Sox from Bill Veeck in 1981. Two years later the Sox won the American League Western Division title, losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the A.L. Championship series.
Einhorn served as White Sox president and chief operating officer from 1981 until 1990, and then spent the next 25 years as the team’s vice chairman.
He had a long history in sports broadcasting, as the founder and
chairman of TVS Television Network, which Einhorn started in 1965.
Einhorn’s work with the network is credited with the booming popularity of college basketball in the 1970’s. He later authored the book “How March Became Madness.”
Reinsdorf issued a statement on Einhorn’s passing, saying “Eddie was a creative whirlwind whose ideas — many of them far ahead of their time — changed the landscape of sports, and sports on television, forever.”
Reinsdorf went on to say “He was a man of many interests, projects, ideas and opinions, and we all will miss him dearly. It is exceedingly rare in this day and age to have enjoyed a friendship and a working partnership that lasted our lifetimes. We celebrated many great moments together.”
Einhorn is survived by his wife of 53 years, Ann, daughter Jennifer (and her husband Darryl), grandson Meyer, and son, Jeff.
Services will be at noon Sunday, February 28, at Louis Suburban Chapel, 13-01 Broadway, Fair Lawn, N.J. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Einhorn’s name to the Professional Scouts Foundation (www.pbsfonline.com).
The White Sox will honor Einhorn by wearing a sleeve patch during the regular season.
