The Charlotte Hornets today released the following statement on the passing of Carl Scheer.
“The Hornets organization mourns the loss of Carl Scheer. As our first president and general manager, he built the franchise from the ground up and laid the foundation for our city’s love affair with the Hornets. Carl was a true pioneer whose innovative ideas such as the slam dunk contest changed the NBA. His contributions to professional basketball in the state of North Carolina are unmatched, having led not only the Hornets but also the ABA’s Carolina Cougars, and his knowledge and love of the game will be missed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Marsha, son Bob, daughter Lauren, and his entire family.”
From the Charlotte Observer:
Carl Scheer, the first general manager in Charlotte Hornets history and the inventor of the slam-dunk contest, died Friday in Charlotte. He was 82.
Bob Scheer said his father passed away one day short of what would have been his 83rd birthday.
Scheer was one of the primary authors of the Hornets’ inaugural season in 1988-89, a spectacular success still remembered nostalgically among the team’s longtime fans.
During a sports-centric career that spanned 50 years, Scheer also served as director of two minor-league hockey teams in the Carolinas — the Charlotte Checkers and the Greenville (S.C.) Growl. He also worked as GM of the ABA’s Carolina Cougars and shepherded the construction of a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Greenville, S.C.
