Alfred Lerner (May 8, 1933 – October 23, 2002) was an American businessman. He was best known as the chair of the board of credit-card giant

MBNA MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006. History The former Maryland National ...

and the owner of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was also a past president of the Board of Trustees of the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

as well as a major benefactor.Goldstein, Richar
Alfred Lerner, 69, Banker; Revived Cleveland Browns
New York Times (accessed April 10, 2010)

Early life and education

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, Lerner was the only son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His parents owned a small candy store and sandwich shop in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and then Columbia College, the liberal arts college at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, graduating in 1955. While attending Columbia College, Lerner was initiated into the Delta chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He served as a pilot in the

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

s from 1955 to 1957, serving in

Quantico, Virginia Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bound ...

and

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Career

After the Marines, Lerner began selling furniture, earning $75 a week. eventually saving enough money to buy an apartment building in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

.CBS Sports: "Browns owner Lerner dies at 69"
October 23, 2002 His real estate portfolio grew and in 1990, he became a major shareholder in MNC Financial, the parent corporation of Maryland National Bank, which was at the time the largest bank headquartered in the State of Maryland. Struggling with real estate loans in the midst of the

savings and loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...

, MNC soon needed leadership and Lerner stepped in as chief executive officer. He tried unsuccessfully to sell the bank's most successful unit, credit card issuer MBNA, to raise cash. In 1991, he took

public, investing $100 million of his own money to ensure the success of the initial sale of stock. Controversial MBNA would blossom into the second largest credit card issuer. He was also the chairman of Town and Country Trust, which owns and operates more than 15,000 apartment units in the mid-Atlantic region.

Cleveland Browns

In 1998, Lerner purchased the franchise rights of

of the

paying $530 million, a record for a sports franchise at the time, outdistancing the next closest bid by $30 million.Sandomir, Richar
PRO FOOTBALL; Lerner Wins Browns for $530 Million
New York Times (accessed April 10, 2010) The runner-up bid was from Cablevision Systems chairman Charles Dolan and his brother and future Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan. Prior to that, Lerner held a 5% stake in the old Cleveland Browns franchise.Kahn, Jerem
Al Lerner Rectifies A Mistake on the Lake
''Fortune'', October 25, 1999 (accessed April 10, 2010) In 1995, he assisted his friend at the time Art Modell, former owner of the Browns, in moving Modell's NFL franchise rights from Cleveland to Baltimore. Lerner introduced Modell to Baltimore financiers of the deal, and he sat behind on the podium at Modell's press conference announcing the team's move. However, many Browns fans were angered after word leaked that Modell's deal to move the Browns to Baltimore was signed on Lerner's private jet. One attorney for season-ticket holders that had sued Modell later stated, “I view, in many respects, Lerner as big of a culprit in this, if not a bigger one than Modell. It was very clear from the stuff that we saw that Lerner egged him on and supported his decision to leave and then tried to run away from responsibility when the shit hit the fan.” The two stopped talking shortly thereafter. In 1997, Modell paid $32 million to buy out Lerner's stake in the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, which had grown to 9%. After his death, his wife and son Randy Lerner took over the Browns franchise. Lerner's initials were stitched on the sleeves of the Browns' jerseys every season until the 2013 NFL season when they were removed from the jerseys under

Jimmy Haslam James Arthur Haslam III (born March 9, 1954) is an American businessman and sports executive. He is the chairman of the board of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain. He and his wife Dee own the Cleveland Browns of the National Football Leag ...

's new ownership of the team.

Personal life and death

In 1955, Lerner married his wife Norma Wolkoff. They were married for 47 years and had two children, business executive Randy Lerner, and Nancy Lerner Beck. The Lerners were members of Temple Tifereth-Israel in Cleveland. He was extremely private and shunned the limelight.Al Lerner, 69; Ohio Businessman Owned Cleveland Browns
Los Angeles Times (accessed April 10, 2010) He was proud of being a

and flew a Marine Corps flag atop the stadium during the entire time he owned the Browns. Additionally, he flew the Cleveland Browns football team flag at all MBNA America corporate sites along with the American flag and State flags. Cleveland native and fellow Marine

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...

paid tribute to Lerner at the end of a season 8 episode of ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'' called "The Dawn Patrol". Lerner was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 and that May underwent surgery, spending most of his last year in and out of hospitals. He died on October 23, 2002, and was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

, Ohio.

Legacy

Lerner gave generously to numerous hospitals and universities. His favorite charities were the Cleveland Clinic and his alma mater Columbia University, both of which received multiple large gifts. He was president of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and donated over $100 million to the hospital system to establish the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Lerner's estate also donated $10 million toward the construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Lerner donated approximately $25 million toward the construction of a new

student center in 1999, which was named Alfred Lerner Hall in his honor. In 2007, Columbia announced it would honor Lerner's military service in the United States Marine Corps with a plaque to be placed in Lerner Hall. The College of Business and Economics is named after him at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

. In 1997, a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. In 1999, Lerner received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

. His award was presented by Awards Council member General Charles C. Krulak, the 31st

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the U.S. Marine Corps. In the Cleveland area, Lerner is honored in various ways: * University Hospitals of Cleveland has a building named after him (Alfred & Norma Lerner Tower) *The street in front of FirstEnergy Stadium (the Browns' home field) is renamed "Alfred Lerner Way" *A statue in Lerner's likeness is in front of the Browns' HQ/training facility in suburban

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,545 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home ...

. Among awards he received, Lerner won the Horatio Alger Award and the John Jay Award.Alfred Lerner '55: Businessman, Philanthropist, Student Center Benefactor, Columbia College Today
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner, Al 1933 births 2002 deaths American bankers American billionaires American chairpersons of corporations Cleveland Browns owners MBNA people Columbia College (New York) alumni United States Marine Corps officers Sportspeople from Cleveland Sportspeople from Brooklyn People from Shaker Heights, Ohio American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American sports executives and administrators Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Ohio Lerner family 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Jews from Ohio Jews from New York (state)