Soccer
Ross is also known for promoting and popularizing soccer in the USA. He was amongst the group of people that founded New York Cosmos in 1971. Driven by Ross' vision and financially backed by his Warner Communications, the club brought soccer superstars Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, as well as other prominent players such as Carlos Alberto, Vladislav Bogićević, Johan Neeskens, and Giorgio Chinaglia.
Ross was introduced to the sport during the late 1960s by one of his business executives Nesuhi Ertegün from Atlantic Records, the record company co-founded by Nesuhi's brother and also soccer enthusiast Ahmet Ertegün. The two brothers worked for Ross in the early 1970s after Atlantic got bought in 1967 by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts that in turn got bought by Ross' Kinney National Company two years later. When Nesuhi Ertegün had a business opportunity that would require leaving the company, Ross offered anything in an attempt to keep him. Ertegün expressed a desire to have a soccer club created and Ross, a fan of sports in general, obliged. Following 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, the event that Ertegüns used to further establish contacts in the soccer world by throwing lavish parties one of which was attended by Pelé, the brothers came back to New York and held Ross to his promise so he and longtime associate Jay Emmett called and convinced eight other executives to contribute $35,000 each towards establishing a new soccer franchise that would compete in the struggling North American Soccer League.
Read more about this topic: Steve Ross (Time Warner CEO)
Famous quotes containing the word soccer:
“We want beans, not goals.”
—Mexican steelworkers’ banner at opening ceremony of 1986 World Cup soccer championship.
“If we were doing this in the Falklands they would love it. It’s part of our heritage. The British have always been fighting wars.”
—British soccer fan. quoted in Independent (London, Dec. 23, 1988)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)