Jerry McMorris, ex-Rockies Co-Owner And CEO, Dead At 71

Jerry McMorris, one of the Colorado Rockies' original owners and the franchise's CEO from 1993 through 2002, died Tuesday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71.

McMorris, one of the Rockies' original investors who paid $7 million of the $95 million expansion fee Major League Baseball required, stepped up to the plate. He pledged half of the money toward the $20 million shortfall and raised the the rest of the money to cover the shortfall from the late Oren Benton and the Monfort family, whose Greeley based meat-packing plant was one of the nation's largest.

After the Monus-Antonucci collapse, Major League Baseball considered pulling its expansion franchise from Colorado until McMorris stepped up.

"One hundred percent true," Charlie Monfort said. "I remember I was in my backyard when Jerry came walking up. This was after the Monus deal. He said, 'We've got a problem. We've got to step up or we're going to lose this franchise.'

"He said, 'What can you do?' I said, 'I'm in.' But he's the one who led the charge."

McMorris later told The Denver Post: "Pressure was bearing down on us in terms of Major League Baseball's schedule, and, quite frankly, there was going to be a large amount of money due within a short time."

With the financial crisis averted, the Rockies began play on schedule.

One wonders what MLB's backup plan might have been; surely they weren't going to cancel expansion altogether, considering the Marlins were scheduled to begin playing in 1993, too.