Onetime Eagles' Owner Jerry Wolman Dead at 86
By Brad Segall
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) -- Funeral services are scheduled for tomorrow in Washington, DC for Jerry Wolman, the former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who became a pivotal figure in Philadelphia sports history.
Wolman grew up in coal country in Pennsylvania and used to hitchhike with friends to see the Eagles play.
After making millions in the construction and real estate business, he bought the team in the '60s. He later lost the Eagles and his fortune.
In the last few years, Wolman supported the Miracle League of Northampton Township, in Bucks County, a baseball and softball league for special needs kids.
Boxing promoter Joe Hand Jr., the Miracle League board's president, says, "As recently as just a week or two ago, a friend of his had contacted him in the hospital and said, 'Jerry, we want to send you something -- what can we send you?' And he said, 'Do me a favor, don't do that. But if you're going to do anything, send something to the Miracle League.' "
"I learned later that he had very soft spot for disabled people," recalls Miracle League board vice president Debbie Katz, "and the idea of combining sports and disabilities was just very interesting to him."
Katz says Wolman had a good heart and contributed both financially and morally to their efforts to build a field which opened last year.
Wolman died at his Rockville, Md., home at the age of 86, after a long illness.
