Buffalo in the 70’s: Bruins purchase should end whispers about Sportservice

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

On this date 40 years ago, September 2, 1970, The News’ editorial board lauded the NHL’s approval of Jeremy Jacobs’ purchase of the Boston Bruins. In their editorial, they said the league’s blessing should serve as an end to attempts by journalists and the Justice Department to tie Jacobs and the company now known as Delaware North to organized crime.

The Buffalo company was built by Louis Jacobs and then his son Jeremy by loaning money to sports franchises in exchange for long-term concessions rights. Late Buffalo News Sports Editor Larry Felser, among others, credited the Jacobs family with keeping Major League Baseball afloat during the Depression. Among hundreds of loans, cash lent to Detroit mafia kingpins and interest in a Las Vegas casino raised suspicion.

The News editorialized that congressional findings of no wrongdoing and the swift NHL approval should both spell a clean record for the company.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.