Pat Williams Biography
Pat Williams was a basketball hall of famer who co-founded Orlando Magic and served as a general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. He died on July 17, 2024 at the age of 84 following complications from viral pneumonia.
In his career, he served as a general manager with NBA teams in Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Orlando, including the 1983 World Champion 76ers. In addition, he was named as one of the 50 most influential people in NBA history in 1996.
In his NBA career, he led his teams to 23 NBA Playoffs and five NBA Finals. He won four NBA draft lotteries, including back-to-back winners in 1992, 1993 and in 2004. Nineteen of his former players have become NBA head coaches.
Pat Williams Early Life and Education Background
Williams was born in 1940 in Philadelphia as an only son in a family of four children. He attended Tower Hill School where his father was a teacher and a coach.
He then joined Wake Forest University with a baseball scholarship. He graduated in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He then earned a master’s of science degree in physical education from Indiana University. He served for seven years in the United States Army and later got a doctorate in Humane Letters from Flagler College.
Pat Williams Wife and Kids
Pat is survived by his second wife Ruth, a consultant with FranklinCovey Co. He was previously married to his first wife Jill from 1973 until they divorced in 1996.
Pat has 19 children, during his first marriage he had 4 biological children and adopted 14 from four nations between 1983 and 1993. Jill also had a child prior to getting married to Pat.
Pat Williams Baseball
Williams gained an interest in baseball while in high school which gained him a scholarship to Wake Forest University. While at the university, he played on the Demon Deacons baseball team as a catcher. In 1962, he was signed to the Miami Marlins, Carpenters minor league team in the Florida State League. He was there for two years before retiring and moving in to a front office role.
After retiring as a player, he was invited by Marlins general manager Bill Durney to be the team’s business manager and a year later he was appointed as the Spartanburg Phillies general manager. In 1967, he became president of the Western Carolinas League in 1967 and was chosen the Minor League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. Afterwards he spent three years in the Minnesota Twins organization. He as well served as president of Orlando’s Double-A Southern League team from 1990 to 1993.
Pat Williams Basketball – Orlando Magic
In 1968, Williams left baseball to join basketball as a business manager for Philadelphia 76ers. He was later hired by Chicago Bulls as the general manager and helped revamp the team’s roster, and invested on the promotion, including the creation of mascot Benny the Bull. In August 1973, he was hired by the Atlanta Hawks as a general manager as they were in need of a GM who specialized in promotion. He however served for one year only before he was invited back to Sixers in 1974, he remained with the team for 12 years as their general manager, helping to build the team that won the 1982–83 NBA season. He left the organization in 1986.
Few years later, he was became a co-founder of Orlando Magic. The league’s board of governors granted an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989. He served as the team’s general manager until being promoted to senior vice president in 1996. He drafted Shaquille O’Neal, Anfernee Hardaway and Dwight Howard to Orlando. In April 2019, he retired from NBA after serving for more than 51 years, including 30-plus years with the Magic.
Pat Williams Death and Cause of Death
Pat died on July 17, 2024 from complications related to viral pneumonia. Earlier in his life, in 2011, he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a treatable but incurable form of cancer. He underwent several rounds of chemo and the doctors gave him a clean bill of health.
After the cancer diagnosis, he became an avid fundraiser or cancer research and sat on several boards for cancer groups throughout the country, including the Board of Directors for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.