John H. McConnell, a steel magnate who was the majority owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets, died Friday. He was 84.

The team announced his death, but no further details were immediately released

McConnell was the founder of Worthington Industries, a $3-billion-a-year steel processing company that he started with $600 US he borrowed on his car. He brought major professional sports to Columbus when he led a group of investors that acquired an NHL expansion team that began play as the Blue Jackets in 2000.

He called the team his gift to the city.

"Columbus has been good for me; I think this is good for Columbus," McConnell said when Nationwide Arena opened in 2000.

"I just think Columbus is a good sports town. They need athletics."

He was also an early investor in Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew franchise and a former minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Blue Jackets, now seven years in, are the only NHL franchise that has yet to make the playoffs. It was something McConnell had often said he couldn't wait to see.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman expressed his sorrow over McConnell's passing in a statement.

"There is an NHL team and a terrific arena in Columbus because of John McConnell," said Bettman. "He loved the city, the Blue Jackets and the fans. He will always be remembered for his generosity and civic-mindedness. John was greatly respected and made a lasting contribution to the NHL.

"The entire NHL grieves his passing. Our condolences to John's family and to the Blue Jackets' organization."

McConnell was born May 10, 1923, in Pughtown, W. Va.

After serving three years with the U.S. Navy on the aircraft carrier Saratoga during World War II, he graduated with a degree in business administration from Michigan State in 1949.

Decided to start his own company

In 1954, a steel company put McConnell in Columbus as a salesman. After realizing how much money he was making for his employers, he decided to put a phone in his basement and start his own company.

"My dad said, 'Don't do it,"' McConnell told The Columbus Dispatch for a story in 2000. "He said, 'What happens if you go broke?' I said, 'Well, I don't have anything to start with, so what am I going to lose?"

McConnell started Worthington Industries in 1955 by borrowing the money against his 1952 Oldsmobile. The company now employs about 8,000 people, with 69 facilities in 11 countries.

McConnell's son, John P. McConnell, became chairman and chief executive in 1996 while McConnell became chairman emeritus.

As the NHL looked to expand in the late 1990s, the original owner of the Blue Jackets was supposed to be the late Texas oil magnate Lamar Hunt, who owned the MLS's Crew. But Hunt, the longtime owner of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, blanched on funding an arena after voters turned down three ballot proposals that would have provided public financing.

But McConnell stepped up with a new ownership group while Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance put together a plan to finance an arena privately.

An ugly court fight followed when Hunt alleged he was elbowed out of the ownership group. McConnell, who ended up winning the lawsuit, said he did it as a matter of civic pride. He ended up committing $120 million to building the franchise.

Owner was idolized by fans

Nationwide Insurance stepped in to construct a 19,500-seat, glass-and-brick arena downtown, with spectacular views of the skyline and a rejuvenated business district.

Unlike many owners, "Mr. Mac," as he was called by his coaches and players, was idolized by fans who filled Nationwide Arena to capacity to watch the Blue Jackets.

On opening night, Oct. 9, 2000, McConnell received a standing ovation that lasted nearly a minute when he slowly moved to centre ice on a blue carpet, ever present cane in hand, to drop the first puck along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The first Blue Jackets team was among the most successful NHL expansion teams in history, winning 28 games and collecting 71 points.

McConnell also was a noted philanthropist who founded the McConnell Heart Health Centre at Riverside Methodist Hospital.