Harold Ballard

Harold Ballard gained control of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early 1970s, becoming the team's dominant, outspoken owner for nearly two decades. Ballard had already served prison time in the mid-1970s for fraud and theft related to Maple Leaf Gardens finances, a fact that did little to dent his public visibility once he returned to running the team.

A feud-filled two decades

Ballard's ownership became defined by public feuds with players, coaches and the media, cost-cutting decisions fans widely blamed for the team's prolonged competitive decline through the 1970s and 80s, and a series of controversial remarks and management choices that made him one of the most polarizing figures in Toronto sports history. Despite, or in some ways because of, his combative public persona, Ballard remained in firm control of the Leafs until his death in 1990, and his ownership era is still frequently cited by longtime fans as a cautionary explanation for the franchise's long championship drought.

Sources

• The Canadian Encyclopedia — Harold Ballard
• Wikipedia — Harold Ballard

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