Thomas D. McCloskey (May 27, 1924 – October 31, 2004) was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

construction magnate. He became the president of McCloskey & Company, Builders, in 1961 when his father, former Democratic National Treasurer Matthew H. McCloskey, was appointed

U.S. Ambassador to Ireland The United States ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States Foreign Service. The role is curre ...

Biography

McCloskey grew up in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, where he attended prep school and participated in football and swimming. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and then served in the

United States Marine Corps 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He supervised the building of, among others, the

Philadelphia Mint The Philadelphia Mint is a branch of the United States Mint in Philadelphia. It was built in 1792 following the Coinage Act of 1792, in order to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States, and is the first and ...

, Centre Square, the

Mann Music Center The Mann Center for the Performing Arts (formerly known as the Robin Hood Dell West and Mann Music Center) is a nonprofit performing arts center located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park, built in 1976 as the sum ...

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...

, The

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

, and

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

.Mizell, Hubert. "McCloskey owner of Tampa team". St. Petersburg Times. 31 Oct 1974 He was chair of the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

, shortly before it left Philadelphia. McCloskey was the founder of the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

; the team played in McCloskey's Veterans Stadium. After failing in a bid to purchase the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he was granted the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

expansion franchise. He could not come to terms with the NFL over a payment method, and was replaced as owner by

Hugh Culverhouse Hugh Franklin Culverhouse Sr. (February 20, 1919 – August 25, 1994) was an American businessman, attorney, and sports franchise owner. Culverhouse is best known for having been the longtime owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the Nationa ...

before the team began play.Mizell, Hubert. "Economics chase McCloskey out". St. Petersburg Times. 6 Dec 1974 McCloskey died of cancer in 2004 at a West Palm Beach hospital. He was survived by a wife, an ex-wife, two sons and two daughters.

References

1924 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia American construction businesspeople North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Florida University of Pennsylvania alumni 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub