Nationals owner Ted Lerner, who helped bring baseball back to DC, dead at 97

Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner has died at 97 after complications with pneumonia, a team spokesperson said via Yahoo! Sports. 

Lerner was the Nationals’ founding principal owner who helped bring baseball back to the nation’s capital. The real estate tycoon and lifelong baseball fan died at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

“I have great appreciation for Ted’s impact on his hometown and the game he loved,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement via MLB.com. “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ted’s entire family, including Annette Lerner, Mark Lerner and Judy Lenkin Lerner, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum and Robert Tanenbaum, and Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen.”

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Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner speaks during a parade to celebrate the Washington Nationals World Series victory over the Houston Astros on November 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. This is the first World Series win for the Nationals in 95 years. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Lerner had quite the life story, beginning with being an usher at the old Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. as a boy. 

He gained his wealth after beginning his real estate company at 26 years old after borrowing $250 from his wife, Annette. Lerner Enterprises became a staple in the D.C. area, and the Nationals became a serious project of Lerner’s when the Montreal Expos were relocated in 2004. 

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“The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved – and with it, bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924,” the Nationals wrote on Twitter. “He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown.”

That championship came in 2019 when the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros. It was their first since the Washington Senators won in 1924. 

Nationals  principal owner Ted Lerner  is shown during a press conference as Matt Williams is introduced as the new manager for the Washington Nationals baseball team at Nationals Stadium in Washington DC, November 1, 2013. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

During the title parade, Lerner couldn’t be more ecstatic to bring a World Series trophy back to his city. 

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“It’s been a very great day for the Washington Nationals,” Lerner said at the championship parade. “They say good things come to those who wait. Ninety-five years is a pretty long wait.”

Lerner was a big philanthropist as well. The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation supported many causes and institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arta, YouthAids, the Weizmann Institute of Science and many more locally and beyond. 

Owner Ted Lerner of the Washington Nationals watches pregame ceremonies before the game against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park on April 27, 2014 in Washington, DC.  (G Fiume/Getty Images)

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Lerner served on the board of trustees and executive committee with one of his alma mater, George Washington University. He also served in the U.S. Army.