convicted in 1960 of illegally taking personal profit from the company). Pohlad was also the Vice President of Pohlad Companies, which owns several companies large and small, including Marquette Financial Companies, United Properties, River Road Entertainment, Stanton Group Holdings, Arcadia Solutions, KTWN FM (96.3 FM) Radio Station (through Northern Lights Broadcasting, a holding company), and JB Hudson's Jewelers in the Twin Cities, as well as a controlling interest in PepsiAmericas, the second-largest bottling group in the United States. Minnesotan sports Pohlad purchased the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise in 1984. The Twins won their first World Series in 1987, and a second World Series in 1991. Pohlad claimed he was close to selling the Twins in 1997 to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver, who would have moved the team to the Piedmont Triad area of the state. The defeat of a referendum for a stadium in that area and a lack of interest in a move to Charlotte killed the deal. In 2001, he offered to sell the team for a reported $150 million to Major League Baseball as part of a contraction plan by the league, in effect eliminating the Twins. The deal was not completed due to a court order binding the Twins to their lease with the Metrodome, and the team continued to play. Pohlad also owned a part of the Minnesota Vikings from the mid-1980s to 1991. Death Pohlad died of natural causes on January 5, 2009, at the age of 93. His funeral was held at the Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis. His son Jim took over day-to-day operations of the Twins organization. Honors 1984, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 2005, Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame References 1915 births 2009 deaths American billionaires Major League Baseball owners Gonzaga Bulldogs football players Minnesota Twins owners Minnesota Vikings owners Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Businesspeople from Minnesota American people of Slovak descent United States Army personnel of World War II El Camino College Compton Center alumni Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Sportspeople from Minnesota 20th-century American businesspeople