More than two years after his death, Harry Glickman, the man who brought professional sports to Portland as the founder of the Trail Blazers, brought a few hundred people together to remember him.
The crowd Friday at Congregation Beth Israel in Northwest Portland included several former NBA players, a former NHL coach and Sen. Ron Wyden. For Wyden, attending the memorial service was nothing. After all, he once flew to the Soviet Union at the behest of Glickman.
Wyden shared the story as part of his eulogy for Glickman, who died on June 10, 2020, at age 96. In the late 1980s, Glickman, then the Blazers’ president, dispatched the politician to Moscow to plead with Soviet Union officials to allow Arvydas Sabonis, who had been picked by the Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, to come to the U.S. and play for Portland.
“I had my speech down,” Wyden said. “… I would just whip myself up into a lather, and these big, twice my breadth, Soviet sports commissioners would listen to me and go ‘nyet.’”
While Wyden’s mission was unsuccessful — Sabonis didn’t arrive in Portland until 1995 — his story illustrated the effect Glickman had on those around him: They would “run through a brick wall” for him. That was because of the way Glickman treated others, Wyden said.
That was a common theme. The accomplishments that have led Glickman to be remembered as the father of Portland sports were dutifully noted in a service that lasted nearly three hours. Glickman first brought the Portland Buckaroos, a minor league hockey team, to the city from 1960-1973. Then he successfully sold the NBA on picking Portland for an expansion franchise in 1970. He worked in the Blazers’ front office until his retirement in 1994.
But more was made about the way Glickman treated everyone in his orbit — family, players and business associates alike — as he built the Blazers into a Portland institution. One of Glickman’s favorite lines, “my handshake is all you need,” was repeated often, underscoring his integrity.
That impact was visible Friday. Terry Porter, who played for the Blazers from 1985-95, delivered a eulogy. He wiped away tears as he remembered making the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 but each time falling short of delivering a second title to Portland. Fellow former Blazers star Clyde Drexler also spoke via video.
“Didn’t matter how many years you played for the Blazers,” Porter said, “you wore that uniform, then he loved you. You were part of the Blazers family.”
A couple of former Buckaroos, both of whom last played for Glickman’s team more than 50 years ago, attended as well. One of those was Tommy McVie, who played for Portland from 1961-66 before going on to become an NHL head coach. McVie said “no one in the game of hockey or life itself has done more” for him than Glickman.
At one point during his stint in Portland, McVie’s wife gave birth to their son. McVie, from Canada, didn’t have health insurance. Glickman footed the hospital bill.
McVie also recalled negotiating a new contract with Glickman one offseason. When McVie entered Glickman’s office, Glickman said he’d had a long day, and he told McVie he could come back the following morning to negotiate. Or, he could make McVie an offer, and if he was satisfied, they could end the negotiations right then.
Glickman wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across his desk. McVie didn’t need to turn it over. He wanted to stay in Portland, and he trusted Glickman to be fair.
“Knowing him the way I knew him, a great man and an honest man, I said ‘I’ll leave, I’m out of here,’” McVie recalled. “And he said, ‘You want to see what I just wrote down?’ And he gave me $2,000 more — that was a lot of money in those days — he gave me $2,000 more than what I was going to ask for.”
Wyden not only reminisced about his time with Glickman, he also delivered a call to action to protect Glickman’s legacy moving forward. He expressed a hope that Portland could add a WNBA team to the Moda Center, something he believes Glickman would be “making the case for.”
More important, he wants to make sure the stadium’s current occupant doesn’t leave. While Jody Allen, who has been serving as Blazers chair since former owner Paul Allen died in 2018, recently issued a statement that the franchise is not imminently for sale, the fact that Allen reportedly declined Nike magnate and Oregon resident Phil Knight’s bid to buy the team has prompted some concern that it could eventually be sold to an ownership group that would relocate it.
Wyden said he’s already had phone conversations with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about keeping the Blazers in Portland, and he vowed to do everything in his power to combat a potential move.
“Portlanders, we’ve got a chance to build on what Harry started,” Wyden said. “Keep the Blazers, get a WNBA team.”
— Mitchell Forde for The Oregonian/OregonLive
