Cavaliers Founder Nick Mileti Dies At 93

Nick Mileti, the former Cleveland Cavaliers owner and founder of the NBA franchise, died Wednesday at the age of 93, the team announced. In 1970, Mileti became the founder and owner of the Cavaliers, paying $3.7 million for the expansion team.

The Cavaliers played their first season in the NBA during the 1970-71 season. Mileti remained part of the ownership group until 1980, when he sold his 20 percent stake in the team for $1.4 million.

Cleveland Cavaliers went 305-434 and made the playoffs three times under founder and owner Nick Mileti

During his tenure as team owner, the Cavaliers posted a 305-434 (.413) record and made the playoffs three times. In 1975-76 season, the Cavs won the conference semifinals matchup against Baltimore. However, Cleveland went on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals.

That was the closest the Cavs came to winning an NBA championship under Mileti’s control. “That was my biggest regret,” Mileti said later, “not winning an NBA title.” He was inducted into the Cavaliers Wall of Honor in 2019.

The Richfield Coliseum was another achievement for Mileti.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Nick Mileti, the beloved founder whose passion and vision ignited the spirit of Cavaliers basketball in our great city. A true pioneer in the world of sports, Nick was not just a leader; he was a dreamer who transformed that dream into… pic.twitter.com/mw6QifgGEL

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) August 22, 2024

Since politicians were divided over building a new arena downtown, Mileti bought land in Richfield, halfway between Cleveland and Akron. He later approved construction designs for the Richfield Coliseum, the largest arena in the country at the time. It opened on Oct. 26, 1974.

According to Cleveland.com’s Bob Dolgan, the Coliseum was sold out that first night. A crowd of 21,082 bought tickets for $25, $15, and $10. The seating capacity for hockey was approximately 18,544.

The Coliseum served as the home of the Cavs until 1994, when the team moved into what is now Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Ted Stepien was the owner at the time.

Joe Tait, the late play-by-play radio announcer for the Cavaliers, once said, “Nick was good for Cleveland. He did a lot of things with other people’s money, but at least he did them. And they were good things. He was brilliant for a relatively short time and burned out.”

Mileti also owned the MLB’s then-Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League, and other teams

Another group Nick Mileti headed purchased the MLB’s then-Cleveland Indians in 1972 for $10 million from Vernon Stouffer. His partnership that bought the Indians included Howard Metzenbaum and Ted Bonda.

In late 1972, Mileti formed Ohio Communications with veteran radio executive Tom Embrescia, which acquired WKYC AM/1100 and FM/105.7 from NBC. They were renamed “3WE” WWWE-AM and “M105” WWWM-FM.

Mileti then moved the radio play-by-play rights for the Indians and Cavaliers, in addition to sports talk host Pete Franklin’s Sportsline, to WWWE.

Furthermore, Mileti also founded and was the principal owner of the short-lived CFL team, the Las Vegas Posse, in 1994. He owned the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association as well.

During his retirement, he published three books: Closet Italians: A Dazzling Collection of Illustrious Italians with Non-Italian Names (2004), Beyond Michaelangelo: The Deadly Rivalry between Borromini and Bernini (2005), and The Unscrupulous: Scams, Cons, Fakes & Frauds that Poison the Fine Arts (2009).