voice opposition to a bill which would have regulated tobacco advertising. From 1971 until 1989, he was the head of the Minnesota Candy & Tobacco Distributors Association. Professional sports After moving to Minneapolis, Robbie took an interest in professional football and became a Minnesota Vikings season ticket holder. In March 1965, Joe Foss, the commissioner of the American Football League, met with Robbie in Washington, D.C. Foss had attended the University of South Dakota, later serving in the Marine Corps and being awarded the Medal of Honor. At the meeting, Foss recommended that Robbie look into Miami as a potential site for an expansion franchise. Robbie formed a partnership with comedian Danny Thomas, a fellow Lebanese-American, and raised the $7.5 million required to purchase an expansion team. The Dolphins' stadium was officially called Joe Robbie Stadium from its opening in 1987 until 1996. It has undergone a series of name changes since, and it is currently known as Hard Rock Stadium. Robbie had a small part playing himself in the film Black Sunday, in which he is interviewed about security for Super Bowl X (1976). Robbie also owned the Miami Toros and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (later the Minnesota Strikers) soccer teams of the North American Soccer League. Joe Robbie Stadium was one of the first major stadiums in the U.S. designed with soccer in mind., and was also designed to be easily reconfigured for baseball. Robbie also believed that given Miami's rapid growth, it was a foregone conclusion that Miami would have a Major League Baseball team: this was proven correct when the city was granted a franchise, the Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins), in 1990, two months after Robbie's death. Honors and awards For his contributions to the Miami Dolphins, and being the founder of the team, Joe Robbie became the inaugural inductee on the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll on September 16, 1990 (eight months after his death). References Further reading External links |- 1916 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians American lobbyists American people of Irish descent American people of Lebanese descent American soccer chairmen and investors Civilian Conservation Corps people Dakota Wesleyan University faculty Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives Miami Dolphins owners Minnesota Democrats Minnesota lawyers National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives People from Sisseton, South Dakota Politicians from Minneapolis