Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller: 1944-2009

One of the most generous and extraordinary men Utah has ever produced, has fallen at the not-so-old age of 64, at least not old from my perspective. Quoting from a Deseret News write-up on Miller, "Miller's rags-to-riches story is a chapter out of Horatio Alger. A poor high school student and a college dropout, he started his professional career as a stock boy in an auto parts store and, through the sheer force of his personality, work ethic and natural intelligence, became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Utah history, and one of its most prominent residents. He graduated from SLC's West High School with a 1.77 GPA, and lasted six weeks at the University of Utah before dropping out. He worked a series of odd jobs for a time before he found his place in car-related businesses. In 1970, he moved to Colorado, where he became a parts manager and eventually general manager for car dealerships in the Denver area. During a vacation visit to Salt Lake City in 1979, he passed a dull afternoon by visiting an old acquaintance in the car business. By the end of the day, he owned his first dealership, purchasing a Toyota store from his acquaintance after writing up terms of the deal on a blank check. Miller not only became the 10th largest car dealer in the nation, with 42 dealerships in six states, but he also began acquiring other businesses in the coming years. The Larry H. Miller Group eventually included 74 business enterprises — movie theaters, auto dealerships, a world-class race track, a movie production company, an advertising agency, ranches, restaurants, TV and radio stations, a real estate development company, an NBA franchise, a professional baseball team, an NBA arena, a motorsports park, sports apparel stores and various philanthropic organizations. At one time they produced $3.2 billion in sales annually."

His association with the Utah Jazz is equally extraordinary, and well worth reading. I recommend going through the entire Deseret News article written by Doug Robinson. It's four web pages long. While we lived in Utah, Miller frequently made the news. I thought his storied life was most fascinating. The man had a reputation for getting very passionate and emotional about issues. It was obvious that he had a heart of gold inside of him. Many benefited from his generousity, adherence to higher principles, and willingness to take enormous business risks that most of us would never have considered taking. He had one of those rare personalities that made him stand apart from the average entrepreneur. I couldn't help but admire him. Here is the sports video associated with his passing.