Robert Alfred Lurie (born 1929) is a real estate magnate, philanthropist, and former owner of the San Francisco Giants franchise of Major League Baseball from March 2, 1976, until January 12, 1993. Early life Lurie was born to a Jewish family in San Francisco, the son of Babette (née Greenbaum) and Louis Lurie. In 1972, he took over the real estate company founded in 1922 by his father whose name is synonymous with San Francisco real estate development during the middle part of the 20th century. The company built a number of properties along Montgomery Street over the years, including a building Bank of America bought and tore down for its world headquarters at 555 California St., and it still owns many of them. Other notable local properties owned by Lurie are the Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Curran Theatre. Lurie's real estate company has also upgraded some older properties in San Francisco. For example, Lurie invested $20 million in 901 Market St. and brought in retailers Copeland's Sports and Marshalls, transforming the mid-Market Street eyesore into a winner. Giants Ownership In 1975, Giants owner Horace Stoneham agreed in principle to sell the team to a group headed by the Labatt Brewing Company, which intended to move the team to Toronto. Mayor George Moscone won an injunction to stop the sale, and then persuaded Lurie, a Giants minority owner and board member, to put together a group that would buy the team and keep it in San Francisco. In February 1976, Lurie announced he was putting together a bid to buy the Giants for $8 million. His original investment partner was former Texas Rangers owner Bob Short. However, Lurie insisted that since he was a San Francisco resident (Short lived in Minneapolis), he should have the final say in operational and league matters. The other National League owners were concerned about Short's checkered tenure as owner of the Rangers (formerly the second incarnation of the Washington Senators), and also insisted that Lurie be empowered to cast the Giants' vote at owners' meetings if the deal were to be approved. Short was unwilling to agree to this and backed out of the deal on March 2, 1976–just days before the start of spring training. Racing a league-imposed five-hour deadline, Phoenix, Arizona-based meat-packer Bud Herseth agreed to become Lurie's new partner, putting up half of the purchase price. The transaction was unanimously