Abe Pollin
Abe Pollin (1923-2009) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1931, Pollin’s family moved to the Washington area and he attended college at George Washington University. He enjoyed an extremely successful career in the construction business.
In 1964, he led an investment group that bought the then Baltimore Bullets, moving the team to the Washington area in 1973 after building the Capital Centre. Pollin also owned the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Mystics in the (WNBA), and the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Pollin was the longest-tenured owner of an NBA team, holding the Packers/Zephyrs/Bullets/Wizards franchise for 46 years.
Pollin's building and financing of the Verizon Center is often given credit for revitalizing Downtown Washington, D.C. The Verizon Center block of F Street NW is named "Abe Pollin Way" in his honor.