{{Short description|American baseball executive (born 1937)}} '''Eli Solomon Jacobs''' (born October 5, 1937) is an American financier and attorney, member of the National Commission for the Review of the [[National Reconnaissance Office]] and the former owner of the [[Baltimore Orioles]] from 1989 to 1993.
==Rise to success== Jacobs was born in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] on October 5, 1937, and raised in nearby [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]]. After graduating from [[Phillips Academy]] in [[Andover, Massachusetts|Andover]], he attended [[Yale College]], where he was the [[managing editor]] of the ''[[Yale Daily News]]'' and a member of the [[Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps]].<ref name=phenom>Fesperman, Dan. [https://www.newspapers.com/image/371070392/ "Oriole Phenom: New owner Eli Jacobs covers all the bases and he secretly swings a mighty big bankroll"], ''[[The Baltimore Sun|The Evening Sun]]'', Baltimore, Maryland, volume 158, number 82, February 10, 1989, pages A1 and A6. {{subscription required}}</ref> After graduating from Yale College in 1959, he served two years in the [[United States Army]] in intelligence stationed at [[Fort Holabird]] in Baltimore, Maryland. Following military service, he attended [[Yale Law School]], earning a law degree in 1964.<ref name=phenom/>
His career began immediately at the [[Wall Street]] [[investment banking]] establishment [[White Weld & Co.]], where he became one of its youngest partners by 1968. After his departure from the firm in 1970, he spent more than a decade as a stock market investor and [[venture capital]]ist. He served on the [[U.S. Commission of Fine Arts]] from 1976 to 1980.<ref>Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, page 547.</ref>
Beginning in 1983, he formed an investment firm with [[Peter G. Peterson]], who had stepped down as the President of [[Lehman Brothers]]. The partnership lasted for a few years until Peterson left to create the [[Blackstone Group]] with [[Stephen A. Schwarzman]]. Jacobs then established his own firm, Manhattan-based E.S. Jacobs & Co., in 1986, he built an [[portfolio (finance)|investment portfolio]] with investments in private equity, venture capital, and real estate. Investments included [[controlling interest]] in [[Memorex]] and Triangle Pacific Corp., a maker of cabinets and wood flooring. In December, 1987, he completed a $900 million acquisition of Telex Corp., which would be [[mergers and acquisitions|merged]] with Memorex to form, at the time, the world's second largest manufacturer of computer peripherals. He also served on the board of directors of [[Tribune Company|Times Mirror Co.]]
==Baltimore Orioles== Jacobs, along with [[Larry Lucchino]] (a holdover from the previous ownership), [[Sargent Shriver]] and his eldest son [[Bobby Shriver|Bobby]], announced their purchase of the Baltimore Orioles from the estate of the late [[Edward Bennett Williams]] for $70 million on December 5, 1988.<ref>[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/12/08/New-York-investor-Eli-Jacobs-the-new-majority-owner/5417597560400/ Boinest, Page. "New York investor Eli Jacobs, the new majority owner...," ''United Press International (UPI)'', Thursday, December 8, 1988.] Retrieved August 10, 2019</ref> The transaction was unanimously approved by the [[American League|American League (AL)]] [[professional sports league organization|franchise]] owners just over four months later on April 18, 1989, two weeks into the new baseball season. The owner of 87% of the ballclub, Jacobs became the chairman of the board, with Lucchino managing the organization.
In his 1994 book ''The Baltimore Orioles: Forty Years of Magic from 33rd Street to Camden Yards'', Ted Patterson made the following observation of the new majority owner:
{{blockquote|Jacobs was a New Yorker with a flat personality who found it awkward being in the public eye. Winning and losing seemed inconsequential. He used the Orioles as a vehicle to entertain and impress high rollers in government, business, and entertainment.<ref>Patterson, Ted. ''The Baltimore Orioles: Forty Years of Magic from 33rd Street to Camden Yards''. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1994.</ref>}}
In the first year of the Jacobs regime, the Orioles nearly shocked the baseball world by transforming itself from the worst team in [[Major League Baseball]] with a 54–107 record in {{mlby|1988}} to one that fell short of winning the [[American League East|AL Eastern Division]] title by two games, finishing at 87-75.
==Bankruptcy== When seven banks filed petitions to force him into bankruptcy in March 1993, Jacobs had to relinquish the Orioles. At an auction held in [[United States bankruptcy court|bankruptcy court]] in New York on August 2, 1993, the ballclub was sold for $173 million to a group of Baltimore investors led by [[Peter Angelos]]. The sale was unanimously approved by the AL club owners two months later on October 4.<ref>Baltimore Orioles 1994 Media Guide.</ref>
==Later years== Affiliated with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], Jacobs has served on various [[national security]] and [[military intelligence]] committees for the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]]. He was a member of the General Advisory Committee of the United States [[Arms Control and Disarmament Agency]] during the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan Administration]]. In January, 2000, he was appointed by then-[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Dennis Hastert]] to his current role on the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office.
Jacobs has been a director with the Convera Corporation since February 2002.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromMktGuideIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedMktGuideId=1021322 Eli Jacobs profile - Forbes.com.]{{dead link|date=January 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He is a member of both its executive and compensation committees.<ref>[http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=4303312&capId=122680&previousCapId=90371&previousTitle=Allen%20%26%20Company%2C%20Inc. Eli Jacobs profile - BusinessWeek.com.]{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Jacobs has served on the boards of several technology start-ups since 2003, including The Water Company, LLC, headquartered in Pueblo, Colorado.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090303144506/http://www.convera.com/about-convera/board-directors Convera Inc. - Board of Directors.] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090816155704/http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1993/b330651.arc.htm Light, Larry & Collingwood, Harris. "Can Baltimore's Birds Bail Out Their Owner?" ''BusinessWeek'', February 22, 1993.] *[http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.os5001aug01,0,2972162.story Waldman, Ed. "Sold! Angelos scored with '93 home run," ''The Baltimore Sun'', August 1, 2004.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029175424/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.os5001aug01,0,2972162.story |date=October 29, 2004 }} *[http://www.r-u-i.com/comp_prss_release.php?article=release1 Restaurants Unlimited - Owned by Jacobs from 1990 to 1994.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818005136/http://www.r-u-i.com/comp_prss_release.php?article=release1 |date=2009-08-18 }}
==Bibliography== *Frank, Peter H. & Rosenthal, David. "Orioles are sold: $70 million; Jacobs is quiet deal-maker," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Wednesday, December 7, 1988. *Baltimore Orioles 1990 Media Guide.
{{Baltimore Orioles owners}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Eli}} [[Category:1937 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Major League Baseball owners]] [[Category:Baltimore Orioles owners]] [[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]] [[Category:United States Army soldiers]] [[Category:Yale College alumni]] [[Category:Yale Law School alumni]]