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NEWSMAKER: Bernie and Lonie Glieberman Back
in town again
CBC Sports Online | June 9, 2005
Lonie Glieberman back in the early 1990s,
kicking off the CFL season. |
Lonie Glieberman's favourite phrase is "Anything
is possible in the CFL." Still is, it seems, because the Gliebermans
have once again bought Ottawa's beleaguered pro football franchise.
After weeks of negotiations, the father-and-son tandem of Bernie and
Lonie Glieberman bailed out the Ottawa Renegades, just as it did with
the troubled Rough Riders for two years in the 1990s.
Bernie Glieberman enjoys majority control of the Renegades with with
Bill Smith and Brad Watters, part of the original ownership group,
keeping 49 per cent of the franchise.
Lonie will serve as team president, the same position he held with
the Rough Riders.
The CFL board of governors remains somewhat skeptical of the Gliebermans,
but approved the sale when it became apparent there was no one else
interested in the troubled franchise.
TIMELINE:
HISTORY OF OTTAWA FOOTBALL
The Gliebermans didn't take long in making one key personnel change, installing 71-year-old Forrest Gregg as the Renegades' new vice-president of operations.
Gregg is a Hall of Fame offensive lineman and former CFL and NFL coach who hasn't been involved in pro football for 10 years.
When last heard from, Gregg was working with the Gliebermans on the
formation of the All-American Football League – it never materialized.
Rather than risk losing its football team, the City of Ottawa is prepared
to reconcile past differences with the Gliebermans, who irked many
a municipal politician the first time around.
"If you look at some of the statements from the Gliebermans, they
say they're reformed," observed Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli. "But the
issue ultimately rests with the CFL board of governors."
Lonie, 37, and Bernie, his deep-pocketed dad, first set foot in the
nation's capital in 1991 with wads of American greenbacks and promises
aplenty.
Glieberman, a third-generation builder and sole shareholder of Detroit-based
Crosswinds Communities, the construction company he established in
1971, bought the Rough Riders for a buck, assumed nearly $1 million
in debt and – temporarily at least – revived the team's
fortunes before turning it into a three-down circus.
Backed by Bernie, and fronted by Lonie, Ottawa finished a respectable
9-9 that first season and its stock rose. After all, it marked the
first time since 1979 that the Riders had played .500 football.
But one year and several misguided moves later, the Riders were the
league laughing stock and the interventionist Gliebermans became public
enemies No. 1.
"That was the perception at the time," Lonie recently said. "I would
hope people don't hate me now."
Lonie, then 27, fired general manager Dan Rambo on the eve of the
1993 CFL season, a move that proved to be the first of many mistakes
made by the impish, if not immature, team president.
"The biggest was firing Dan Rambo," Lonie admitted. "Every other mistake
flowed from that one."
Mistakes like bringing former All-Pro sack machine Dexter Manley and
his considerable cocaine habit to town, despite the fact he was banned
by the NFL. And, as CFL fans quickly discovered, washed up.
When Glieberman ordered the coaching staff to start Manley, and to
bring back training-camp cuts Reggie Barnes and Brian Bonner, assistants
Jim Daley and Mike Roach quit in disgust.
Lonie's bodyguard remained loyal, however, making headlines after
he got into a fight at an Ottawa bar. Lonie himself raised a ruckus
by dating Riders cheerleaders.
Fans scoffed at Lonie's hilarious pursuit of former NFL head coach
Mike Ditka and fumed over Bernie's constant threats to relocate the
team stateside.
Instead, he sold the Riders to Bruce Firestone for $1.85 million and
established the Shreveport Pirates, considered a key cog in the CFL's
(failed) expansion into the United States.
As he left for Louisiana, Lonie was sued by the City of Ottawa for
monies owed and, in turn, filed a countersuit.
"We won," Lonie recalled. "But nobody mentions that."
The Pirates posted an 8-28 record over two seasons in steamy Shreveport
before Glieberman vowed to relocate them to Virginia.
There, he agreed to rename them the Hampton Roads Pirates or Norfolk
Pirates if the city coughed up $400,000 in renovations.
But local politicians politely showed Glieberman the door upon learning
that he had lawsuits pending in Louisiana and had his antique automobile,
a 1948 Tucker Torpedo worth upwards of $500,000 US, impounded because
he still owed a company $273,932 for Shreveport's scoreboard.
In a story as classic as the car itself, Glieberman told his lawyer,
Mark Gilliam, to retrieve the Tucker from a local museum before it
was seized by federal authorities.
Gilliam was driving the car to an undisclosed location when it ran
out of gas, forcing him to call for a tow truck, which was later pulled
over by a sheriff's deputy. Police seized the vintage Tucker and returned
it to the museum until the dispute was settled.
Indeed, anything is possible in the CFL.
with files from CP Online |
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Lonie Glieberman
Born:
Feb. 1, 1968 in Detroit
Height:
5-foot-6
Weight:
152 lbs.
First entered CFL scene:
Bought the Ottawa Rough Riders with dad, Bernie, back in 1991
Where did they get this money?
Bernie Glieberman is a real estate mogul in Detroit. He is president and CEO
of Crosswinds Communities
Notorious moves:
As owners in Ottawa, the Gliebermans fired popular GM Dan Rambo before the start
of season; brought in washed-up NFLer Dexter Manley and tried to pursue former
NFL coach Mike Ditka.
Record under the Gliebermans:
In Ottawa: 13-23 (1992-93)
In Shreveport: 8-28 (1994-95)
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