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Joe Robbie

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Nationality
  
American

Movies
  
Black Sunday

Children
  
Mike Robbie

Name
  
Joe Robbie

Occupation
  
Lawyer


Joe Robbie wwwsdshofcomuploadsproductshiresRobbieJoe3JPG

Born
  
July 17, 1916 (
1916-07-17
)
Sisseton, South Dakota, United States

Alma mater
  
Northern State University University of South Dakota School of Law

Known for
  
First owner of the Miami Dolphins

Net worth
  
$100 million (at death)

Spouse(s)
  
Elizabeth, 1942-1990 (his death)

Died
  
January 7, 1990, Miami, Florida, United States

People also search for
  
Mike Robbie, Wayne Huizenga, John Frankenheimer

Education
  
University of South Dakota, Northern State University

First touchdown jacory harris joe robbie stadium


Joseph "Joe" Robbie (July 7, 1916 – January 7, 1990) was an American attorney, politician, and the principle founder of the Miami Dolphins.

Contents

Joe Robbie Joe Robbie South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame

Early life

Joe Robbie Football Cards Joe Robbie

Robbie was raised in Sisseton, South Dakota, the second of five children. His father was a Lebanese immigrant and restaurant manager; his mother was a baker and the daughter of Irish immigrants. He was raised Catholic.

Joe Robbie wwwsdshofcomuploadsproductshiresRobbieJoe4JPG

At 14 years old, Robbie was the sportswriter for his local newspaper, The People's Press. In 1934, during the Great Depression, Robbie dropped out of high school to work as a lumberjack for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Black Hills, sending $25 of his $30 monthly earnings home to his family. After completing his high school education in 1936, Robbie enrolled at Northern State Teachers College on a debating scholarship. After three years, he transferred to the University of South Dakota. Robbie met his future wife, Elizabeth, while he was a senior at the school and she was a freshman. The couple was married two years later.

Robbie enlisted in the Navy on the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Robbie saw substantial action in the Pacific theater and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service. After his discharge, he used the G.I. Bill to return to University of South Dakota School of Law as a law student.

Politics

Following his graduation from law school, Robbie worked as a deputy state's attorney and a professor of economics at Dakota Wesleyan University. In 1948, at 33 years old, Robbie entered politics. He was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives as a Democrat. In 1950, he ran for Governor of South Dakota but lost to Sigurd Anderson. The following year, Robbie and his family moved to Minneapolis at the encouragement of then-mayor Hubert H. Humphrey.

His political and business careers further developed in Minnesota. In addition to operating his own law firm, Robbie served as regional counsel for the Office of Price Stabilization in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. He was also a charter member of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Commission and chairman of the Minnesota Municipal Commission. In addition to working on Humphrey's political campaigns, Robbie represented Minnesota's 5th congressional district at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.

Robbie also worked as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry from the 1960s until his death. In 1963, he appeared before the United States Senate to voice opposition to a bill which would have regulated tobacco advertising. From 1971 until 1989, he was the head of the Minnesota Candy & Tobacco Distributors Association.

Football

After moving to Minneapolis, Robbie took an interest in professional football and became a Minnesota Vikings season ticket holder. In March 1965, Joe Foss, the commissioner of the American Football League, met with Robbie in Washington, D.C.. Foss had attended the University of South Dakota and served in the Navy with Robbie. Foss recommended that Robbie look into Miami as a potential site for an expansion franchise. Robbie formed a partnership with comedian Danny Thomas, a fellow Lebanese-American, and raised the $7.5 million expansion fee.

When the Miami Dolphins took the field in 1966, Robbie was its first owner. Coached by Don Shula, Robbie's Dolphins achieved a perfect season (17–0) in 1972 and two consecutive Super Bowl wins. Robbie later built the US$115 million Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida with private funds in 1987. It operated under that name until 1996; it has since been renamed several times – as of January 2017 it is called Hard Rock Stadium.

Robbie had a small part playing himself in the film Black Sunday, in which he is interviewed about security for Super Bowl X (1976).

Robbie also owned the Miami Toros and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (later the Minnesota Strikers) soccer teams of the North American Soccer League. Joe Robbie Stadium was one of the first major stadiums in the US designed with soccer in mind.

Honors and awards

For his contributions to the Miami Dolphins, and being the founder of the team, Joe Robbie became the inaugural inductee into The Miami Dolphin Honor Roll on September 16, 1990 (eight months after his death).

Partial filmography

  • Black Sunday (1977) - Himself
  • References

    Joe Robbie Wikipedia