Celebrity Sports Team Owners

A talented hardballer who once declined an offer to play in the minors, Autry was minority owner of the 1950s minor-league Hollywood Stars. When Major League Baseball announced its plans to add an expansion team in L.A., the Singing Cowboy jumped at the opportunity to own radio-broadcast rights to the team's games. Autry's savvy business tactics caught the eyes of MLB executives, who persuaded him to become the first majority owner of the franchise that would eventually be known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.