Robert O. "Bob" Naegele Jr. (1939–2018) was the founding owner of the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Naegele grew up in

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

, and was a star

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Minnetonka High School Minnetonka High School is a four-year public high school in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. ''Newsweek'' ranked the school 123rd on its list of America's Top High Schools. Niche ranked it 3rd am ...

. A 1961 graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, Naegele inherited his father's billboard company and eventually became wealthy in his own right. Later, he was the owner of Rollerblade, an in-line skate manufacturer, and prospered during the in-line skating craze of the 1980s and 1990s. He sold his stake in 1995, and donated the proceeds to every employee of the company. A lifelong hockey fan, Naegele joined a group of hockey enthusiasts working to return the NHL to the Twin Cities, which were still smarting from the loss of the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

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in 1993. In 1997, the NHL granted an expansion franchise to Naegele and his group, which began play in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

as the Wild. He served as the team's chairman until 2008, when he sold the team to current owner

Craig Leipold Craig Leipold is the owner of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously owned the Nashville Predators. Business career Leipold is the founder of Ameritel, a business-to-business telemarketing firm in Neenah, Wisconsin. ...

. Soon after selling the team, he was awarded the

Lester Patrick Trophy The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, ...

for service to hockey in the United States, sharing that year's award with

Ted Lindsay Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay (July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 ...

, Brian Burke and

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL from 2019 to 2022, a ...

. Although he lived in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

for most of the year, Naegele was very involved with the team. He was often seen greeting fans as they arrived for games at

Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...

. Naegele opposed same sex marriage and donated $50,000 towards the 2012 failed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state of Minnesota. Naegele died on November 7, 2018, due to complications with cancer. The Wild wore a commemorative patch with his initials on their uniforms for the rest of the 2018-19 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naegele, Bob 1939 births 2018 deaths Minnesota Wild Dartmouth College alumni People from Naples, Florida National Hockey League executives People from Minnetonka, Minnesota Lester Patrick Trophy recipients