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Modell knew best: Mara and Tisch were perfect pair

Bob Glauber

November 16, 2005

It was early spring in 1991 when Art Modell came up with the idea of bringing together Bob Tisch and Wellington Mara.

Modell was the Cleveland Browns' owner at the time. His best friend, Giants co-owner Mara, only a few months after celebrating the team's second Super Bowl victory, was looking for a new partner to run the team. Mara's nephew, Tim, was selling his 50 percent stake in the team. Not wanting a repeat of the constant bickering that had marred the Maras' business and personal relationship, Wellington needed to be certain he could peacefully co-exist with a new co-owner.

Modell knew Preston Robert Tisch would be the perfect fit.

"I called Bob and asked if he was interested in owning an NFL team," Modell recalled the other day. "He said, 'Why, are you selling the Browns?' I told him, 'No, it's more important than the Browns. It's the New York Giants.' "

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Modell arranged a luncheon at the Regency Hotel in Manhattan for Mara and Tisch. They hit it off immediately, and within a matter of days, the two men shook hands on a new partnership.

It turned into one of the most harmonious relationships you will ever see in professional sports. They got along famously, never once disagreeing to the point where it became a problem. Mara was the football man, Tisch the businessman, and the unique partnership flourished for more than 24 years.

Both men are now gone, passing within weeks of each other. Mara died last month at age 89; Tisch died yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 79. It's fitting that they go out together.

"Bob Tisch was a great partner for Wellington and for the Mara family," Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said. "Bob was a partner, but when it came to football matters, he acquiesced. He just wanted to be informed on things. Unlike Wellington, Bob wasn't concerned on every waiver claim we made for a player."

Tisch was always content to remain in the background, never showing the slightest hint of jealousy about Mara's revered status as the team's elder statesman. Tisch was more comfortable dining with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other civic leaders and business barons than he was hanging out in the Giants' locker room, which was Mara's favorite spot for most of the last 80 years.

Tisch knew he was not the iconic owner his partner had become. Wellington was always Mr. Mara; Tisch asked that you call him Bob.

"Well, Mara rightfully deserved the recognition of being the principal owner, and Bob was content to enjoy the ride, and he enjoyed it enormously," Modell said. "Football gave him a new life."

Tisch's attraction to the NFL took root long before he purchased his stake in the Giants. He had been a friend of NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle years before he became partners with the Maras, and often went to league meetings just to keep tabs on how things worked. When there was talk of Baltimore becoming an expansion city after the Colts had moved to Indianapolis, Tisch was considered one of the leading contenders to become the team's owner; Modell eventually moved the Browns to Baltimore.

"Bob was always interested in what Pete was doing," said NFL executive vice president Joe Browne, the league's long-time spokesman. "In a lot of ways, Pete was like Johnny Carson, where he had a very public life, but in private life he was very much to himself. One of the things he liked to do, though, was take Carrie to visit with Bob and his wife in Westchester. They'd arrange to get newly released movies and watch them together.

"I know Bob was always interested in getting involved in ownership," Browne said, "and I think he always hoped it would be with the Giants. I'm glad it worked out for him."

Tisch was also a philanthropist who gave away millions to his favorite causes. But the one that touched him most was Take The Field, a non-profit organization dedicated to rebuilding and renovating athletic fields in the New York public schools. He started the organization with a $1 million donation; the charity has raised close to $150 million since.

"That's one of the greatest charities I've ever seen, because there were such tangible results," Accorsi said. "You had kids that didn't have any place originalslug=