Born in the Hungry Hill area of Chicago Heights, Illinois, to a working class, Italian-American family, Jerry Colangelo excelled from the beginning in ambition, leadership, and sports. He knew how to work hard and early on, he established a strong value system honoring his faith in God, family, teammates, business associates, and his community.
As a boy, Jerry Colangelo delivered four daily newspapers and grew into a hard-working athlete - a high school winner with the ability and strength of two kids. He made the all-state basketball team at Bloom Township High, and was the number one pitcher for his school’s baseball team. At graduation, Jerry was the recipient of sixty-six athletic scholarships.
Graduating from the University of Illinois in 1962 with a degree in physical education, Jerry Colangelo was captain of his basketball team and earned All Big-Ten honors with a scoring average of fifteen points per game. Within four years, he connected with Dick Klein, general manager for the new expansion team in Chicago, and began his career in professional sports management. Mr. Colangelo says in his book, How You Play the Game, “Every single day of that first year was very, very exciting . . . little did I know in 1966 at the age of twenty- six that my work with the Bulls was preparing me for even bigger things.”
Jerry Colangelo was the team’s chief and only scout, as well as director of marketing. He worked with the Jack Mathis advertising agency to name the team, “The Bulls,” and design the logo; both are still used today for this world-renowned basketball team. “Chuck Taylor” canvas shoes by Converse were the gold standard in the 1960s. Outfitting shoes for the new team was a major expense, so in 1966, Jerry made the first shoe deal in professional sports between Converse and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls, with Jerry as director of marketing, became an early innovator of promotional giveaways, a concept in professional sports that was first seen at a 1927 baseball game at Yankee Stadium.
According to Jerry Colangelo, “I never had a true mentor . . . but I have relied upon many people who have had substantial influences on my life.” He recognizes friends who have offered him valuable advice through the years: Red Holzman, a championship coach for the New York Knicks; Eddie Gottlieb, one of the founders of the NBA; and Pete Newell, one of the great college coaches.
Preferring not to concentrate on the term “mistakes,” Jerry says that his methodology was trial and error. “Never dwell on an error; instead, once made, learn from it and go forward.” Learning his life’s profession was day by day and on the job. Each day became another opportunity to learn and grow. If he has a creed, Mr. Colangelo's might well be, "Do not wait and hope for that break, but do everything possible to make it likely that you will be in a position to recognize a chance and will be prepared to take advantage of it when it comes along.”
That break came along for Jerry in 1968, at age twenty-eight, when he was named general manager of Arizona’s NBA expansion team, the state’s first step into major league sports. In a contest, the fans later named the new team the “Phoenix Suns.” By 1987, Jerry had organized a group of investors to buy the Suns and he became president and CEO. Over the years, he has been named NBA Executive of the Year an unprecedented four times. Since 1995, he has been owner, chairman, and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching major league baseball onto the Arizona scene via "BOB," the Bank One Ballpark.
Jerry Colangelo’s life is not all major league sports. During his more than thirty years in Phoenix, he has given back continually to his chosen city and state. He places a high priority on community service, personally supporting a variety of causes, and encourages civic and charitable participation by those around him. Over the years, the Phoenix Suns charities have provided more than two million dollars for Arizona’s youth.
Mr. Colangelo's board memberships and civic service include Valley Big Brothers, the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce Advisory Council, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Community Alliance, West Valley Child Crisis Center, Inc., the ASU Capital Campaign for Leadership, Southwest Leadership Foundation, Thunderbirds, Junior Achievement of Central Arizona, Christian Businessmen’s Club, and countless others.
The personal awards Jerry Colangelo has won cover a broad spectrum of organizations: the Heritage Award from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Phoenix Award from the Valley of the Sun Public Relations Society of America, the George R. Lolan award, and the DREAMR award by the Downtown Phoenix Partnership. He was honored along with Ron Bookbinder by the Jewish National Fund with the Tree of Life award. Nationally, he has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor as an Italian American Business Leader, and the National Italian American Foundation honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award for
Sports/Business. He is listed in the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.
A strong family man, Jerry and his wife Joan, a classmate at the University of Illinois, were married in 1961. He credits Joan with carrying the heaviest load in rearing their close-knit family: three daughters – Kathy Holcombe, Kristen Brubaker, Mandie Okyere, and one son, Bryan Colangelo. Ten grandchildren complete the family album.
Jerry Colangelo is centered in his strong faith and personal belief that God has a plan for everyone’s life. “At the core of my beliefs is this conviction: that every person, in service to his faith, values, and dreams, must seize whatever chances arise to make the most of his life.” This sports entrepreneur and community servant lives each day in strict adherence to these convictions.
Historymaker Jerry Colangelo biography published in 2001
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