Thomas Kaine Scallen (August 14, 1925 – March 21, 2015) was the first owner of the

NHL 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 ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. He owned the team from 1970 to 1974, when

Frank Griffiths Frank A. Griffiths (December 17, 1916 – April 7, 1994) was a Canadian media executive through his company, Western International Communications Ltd. (WIC). Frank Griffiths was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. In 1956, along with ...

, an owner of several Vancouver area radio and television stations, the next largest shareholder in the Canucks, took over after Scallen was arrested. He was found guilty of securities fraud in 1973, and a later appeal failed. Upon graduation from

Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is an all-male, Catholic military high school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The academy has a middle school (gr ...

, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and fought in

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 ...

. For his military service, Scallen was awarded the

Combat Infantry Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ...

and a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. He obtained a B.A. and J.D. from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

and began practicing law, serving a stint as

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

assistant attorney general. He was married twice, firstly to Mary Semsch, with whom he had six children. In the early 1960, Scallen was employed in the banking industry. He then took a leadership position with the

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

which he later purchased. He then married Bille Jo Brice in 1990, and lived with her until his death. Scallen was the chairman of Medicor, a medical insurance company based his home state,

. Scallen was the lead investor in a group that sought a

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

expansion team in Minneapolis for the

1984 USFL season The 1984 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. Rule changes * The USFL added the side judge to the game officials, making a seven-man crew. * Teams played preseason games in 1984. There had been no preseason ...

. He was president of International Broadcasting Corporation, which owned the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

and

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1991. Later, he was chairman and principal owner of Century Park Pictures, an entertainment company that for a time owned the Minnesota Fighting Pike

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

team. From 1999-2009, he was the owner of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in

Chanhassen, Minnesota Chanhassen ( ) is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, United States about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Minneapolis. The population was 25,947 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate of 26,469. A small portion of the city extends into Henn ...

, one of the nation's largest

dinner theater Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. In the case of a theatrical performance, sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to th ...

s. Scallen died in Minneapolis in 2015 at the age of 89.

References

Businesspeople from Minnesota National Hockey League owners 1925 births 2015 deaths American entertainment industry businesspeople Minnesota lawyers National Hockey League executives Vancouver Canucks executives United States Army personnel of World War II Sturm College of Law alumni University of Denver alumni Arena Football League executives 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub