NEW YORK Brain disease claimed the life of Robert Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants and a longtime civic
leader in New York City, on Tuesday. He was seventy-nine.According to family spokesman Jeffrey Stewart, Tisch
passed away at home.
Wellington Mara, the other co-owner of the Giants, passed away on October 25 from cancer.
Timothy J. Mara, the team’s founder, was Mara’s father. Shortly after the Giants defeated Buffalo in the Super Bowl,
Tim Mara, Wellington Mara’s nephew, sold Tisch half of the Giants in 1991.
The Giants’ chief operating officer, John Mara, stated, “To lose Bob Tisch so soon after we lost our father is especially
heartbreaking for the Mara family.” In addition to being a fantastic business associate, he was also a close friend of
mine and our family. We will always be grateful for all that he did for our family, our team, and the many
humanitarian projects he was passionate about. We will miss him dearly.”
In addition, Tisch served as chairman and director of Loews Corp., which he and his late brother Lawrence Tisch had
acquired in 1959 when it was a network of movie theaters. He also held the position of U.S. Postmaster General from
1986 to 1988. After rebranding from Loews Theaters in 1971, the corporation now owns and runs Bulova Corp., the
Lorillard Tobacco Co., and Loews Hotels, among other businesses.
Tisch had stopped going to Giants training and games after receiving an incurable brain tumor diagnosis in 2004.
Steve Tisch, the son of the team’s executive vice president, assumed more responsibility for the team’s management
during his illness. This included helping to negotiate the Giants’ new stadium with the state of New Jersey, which is
located at the Meadowlands sports complex.
The day before the Giants’ Meadowlands loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Steve Tisch and his brother Jonathan Tisch, the team’s treasurer, spoke to the players following practice on Saturday.
The Tisch and Mara families will continue to share co-ownership of the Giants.
“I wanted to express to the players, the coaches and really the whole staff what being involved with the New York
Giants has meant to my father,” Steve Tisch stated. “For the 14 years he’s had the privilege of owning this team, it’s
been the greatest gift for him, professionally and personally.”
Robert Tisch, a New York native, was active in a number of the city’s civic associations. He chaired the Citizens
Committee for the Democratic national conventions in New York in 1976 and 1980, and he presided over the New
York Convention and Visitors Bureau for 19 years.
