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Today in Patriots History
Billy Sullivan replaced by Bob Marr
Billy Sullivan replaced by Bob Marr
April 9, 1974:
Robert Marr is named president, succeeding Billy Sullivan
On the anniversary of the Civil War ending in 1865, the New England Patriots finished (temporarily) a power struggle of their own. Despite owning more than 20% of the stock - more than any other investor - Billy Sullivan was ousted as president of the Patriots. Robert L. “Bob” Marr assumed the administrative leadership of the New England Patriots when the team’s Board of Directors elected him to the post of President and Chief Executive Officer. At 38 years of age, Bob Marr became the youngest active club president in the AFC and one of the youngest chief executive’s in the history of the National Football League.
This was not the first power struggle for control of the team between Sullivan and the Board of Directors. In the 1960s one of the original ten owners was Dom DiMaggio. One thing the former Red Sox center fielder accomplished was using his contacts with the Red Sox to get Tom Yawkey to allow the Patriots to play at Fenway Park. DiMaggio and some of the other owners did not always see eye-to-eye though (imagine that!) with Sullivan, and Dom attempted to oust Billy as team president. Sullivan won that battle, which led to DiMaggio selling his share of the team in August 1966 for $500,000 - earning DiMaggio a tidy profit of $400,000 from his initial investment of $100,000. 400% ROI in seven years? Not too shabby.
Fast forward a few years, and lo and behold once again there is turmoil in the boardroom. Billy was not going to walk away quietly though. About a year and a half later, by the end of 1975, the Sullivans had bought out the minority partners and regained control. But the only way he could pay back the $5.3 million in loans that he took out to buy out his partners, was to acquire all of the outstanding stock. In order to do this, Sullivan needed to buy out the non-voting public shareholders. So Sullivan structured a deal that provided the non-voting public shareholders $15 per share, and the transaction was approved by the shareholder class. (Prior to the shareholders vote, Sullivan pulled a fast one. He pushed a bill through the state legislature that allowed companies to buy back non-voting public shares if a majority of shareholders voted in favor, rather than the two-thirds vote that was required before the law was passed. In other words, he convinced the Massachusetts politicians to pass a law specifically for himself.)
Problem was that one shareholder refused to tender his shares, and filed suit. It took a while, but in 1986, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found the purchase of the minority shareholders was illegal, since it was for Sullivan's personal benefit. The court deemed his actions constituted a waste of corporate assets. The court ordered that the shareholders be paid $80 per share plus 9% interest per year since the purchase was completed - about six times the original cost to the Sullivans.
Between the time Sullivan bought out the minority shareholders in 1975, and the court decision in 1986, the Sullivans were operating on a tight budget because of the loans they had taken out. That resulted in not providing reasonable contracts for players, which led to players like John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Leon Gray and Mike Haynes holding out - and in the case of those last two, being traded away. Bucko Kilroy and Chuck Fairbanks had built a quality team that should have won championships, but Billy Sullivan's miserly ways prevented that from coming to fruition.
The 1986 court decision came on the heels of the infamous Jackson's 1984 concert tour, which was bankrolled by Chuck Sullivan - who had only been able to get financing for the tour by pledging Sullivan Stadium as collateral. Despite the Patriots making it to the super bowl in 1985, the revenue was still not enough - and the Sullivans had to sell the team as well as the stadium. That opened the door for Robert Kraft to buy the stadium, and eventually the team.
Back to Bob Marr. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Billy Sullivan was not happy with his ouster. Once Billy regained control of the team, Bob's name was not mentioned in the succeeding media guides. It was as if his time as president and CEO of the Patriots never happened.
Articles after his death in 2022:
Editorial: Bob Marr’s impact will live on in Dorchester - Dorchester Reporter
Dorchester lost one of its most generous and loyal sons this week. Robert L. Marr died on Monday after a brief illness. He was 86. Bob was the son of Colonel Daniel Marr, the namesake of the original Boys and Girls Club, which opened on Deer Street in 1974. The Marr brothers— Bob and Dan […]
www.dotnews.com
Bob was the son of Colonel Daniel Marr, the namesake of the original Boys and Girls Club, which opened on Deer Street in 1974. The Marr brothers — Bob and Dan Jr. — raised the money and drove the project — leaning on their impressive network of friends and business contacts associated with the Marr Companies and the New England Patriots.
The fifth-generation construction company — which Bob’s grandfather, Daniel F. Marr, founded in 1898 — specializes in steel erection, scaffolding, and cranes. They helped build large parts of the city of Boston as we know it from their headquarters on Dorchester Avenue, just north of Andrew Square in South Boston.
Their equipment and employees were pivotal to the construction of Hynes Auditorium, the Museum of Science, the Back Bay Hilton and Westin Copley hotels, International Place and Rowes Wharf. Closer to home, they were instrumental in building Carney Hospital, the JFK Library, and even the landmark Rainbow Gas Tank.
Bob Marr was also a key player in the history of the New England Patriots. His father was a co-founder and Bob served as the team’s president in 1974-75.
But it’s the family’s involvement in the Boys and Girls Clubs and the neighborhood’s Catholic schools that has left the most indelible and important imprint on Dorchester. Bob Marr has been a constant throughout the decades, showing up as a board member and frequent presence at the club’s facilities.
Robert Marr, business executive and Dorchester Boys and Girls Clubs founder, dies at 86
For six decades Mr. Marr served in executive positions such as president and board chairman for the Marr Companies. Read more at Boston.com.
www.boston.com
Robert Marr believed the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester was his most significant achievement, a legacy that to him towered above the Boston skyline his family’s construction business helped shape. The organization, which he founded in 1974 with his brother Daniel, now serves thousands of children and youths annually and owes much of its existence to the Marr brothers’ time growing up in the neighborhood, which then had little to offer its youngest residents.
Remembering Robert L. Marr, 1936-2022 - Marr Companies
Remembering Robert L. Marr, 1936-2022 It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Robert L. Marr, a fourth-generation family member to lead the Marr Companies and former Chairman of the Board. Bob passed away on Sunday August 7, 2022. Bob was born in Dorchester to the […]
marrcompanies.com
Bob’s legacy extends throughout the greater Boston area. He served as President of the New England Patriots from 1974-1975, Captain Commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company from 1975-1976, Chairman of the Zoning Commission of Boston from 1992-2007, Mass Building Congress President for the year 1965 and Past President of the Boston Chapter of the Notre Dame Club.
Robert L. Marr obituary
Robert L. Marr, of Boston entered into eternal rest, Sunday August 7, 2022. Robert was born on January 11, 1936 in Dorchester to the late Mary V. Marr (Davin) and the late Daniel F. Marr. He was predeceased in death by his brothers, John T. Marr and Daniel F. Marr Jr. Bob attended Cranwell...
www.dolanfuneral.com
Bob attended Cranwell Jesuit Preparatory School in Lenox MA continuing his education at Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana, graduating in 1958. In the same year he married Doris Good of West Roxbury and moved to the U.S. Naval Examining Station, Great Lakes, Ill. He served in the navy assigned to the U.S. Naval Examining Center, Great Lakes, Illinois being honorably discharged as a lieutenant JG in 1960.
In 1960 Bob began a 60-year career with the Marr Companies, a sixth generation family owned business in South Boston. He guided those companies through a period of steady growth until he retired as chairman of the board in 2021.
