Nick J. Mileti was born in inner-city Cleveland in 1931. By the 1970s, he owned three of the city’s major professional sports franchises: the Indians of Major League Baseball, the NBA‘s Cavaliers, and the Crusaders of the World Hockey Association.
After Mileti died on Tuesday at age 93, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer regaled him as “the most energetic and imaginative promoter in Cleveland sports history.”
A lawyer by trade, Mileti made his money developing a series of Ohio real estate projects on the side in the 1960s. In 1968, he bought the Cleveland Arena and a minor league hockey team, the Cleveland Barons. He would later add another Cleveland minor league hockey team, the Crusaders, to his impressive portfolio.
Mileti was perhaps most famous as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first owner, ushering the expansion franchise into the NBA in 1971. One year later, he bought the Indians amid rumors the team would move to New Orleans, Louisiana. He bought a pair of local radio stations the same year.
Although his teams enjoyed scarce success in the standings — in a rare exception, the Cavs won a surprising division title in 1975-76 — he was instrumental in putting Cleveland on the NBA map by building a brand-new arena for the Cavs in Richfield, Ohio, and by keeping the Indians in town.
But he was replaced as Indians president in 1975 and sold his stake in the team. The Crusaders ceased operations in 1976 after the NHL moved into town. Mileti sold his stake in the Cavaliers in 1980.
“We got the NBA franchise. Then the Indians were leaving town and we kept them,” Mileti told the Toledo Blade in 1991. “The (Cleveland) Arena was two-dollar size. When I started, there was no basketball and minor league hockey. We changed some of those things.”
In the 1980s, Mileti tried his hand in the film industry. He earned producer credits on two Hollywood Films: Streamers (1983) and The Ladies Club (1985), according to IMDB.
After leaving Hollywood, Mileti retired to Rome. Later, he became a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Cavaliers’ Wall of Honor in 2019. He was awarded an NBA championship ring from the Cavs’ first title team in 2015-16.
An alumnus of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Mileti’s heart never strayed far from his home state.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Nick Mileti, the beloved founder whose passion and vision ignited the spirit of Cavaliers basketball in our great city. A true pioneer in the world of sports, Nick was not just a leader; he was a dreamer who transformed that dream into… pic.twitter.com/mw6QifgGEL
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) August 22, 2024
“A true pioneer in the world of sports, Nick was not just a leader; he was a dreamer who transformed that dream into reality for countless fans in Cleveland,” the Cavaliers said in a statement. “Nick Mileti changed the course of Cleveland sports history, and his passion and commitment will be deeply missed.”
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