Former Milwaukee Bucks owner and former Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl died Wednesday at 88, Herb Kohl Philanthropies announced. Kohl died after a brief illness, according to the organization.
Kohl was beloved in his native Wisconsin for saving the Bucks from leaving the state with his $18 million purchase of the team from Jim Fitzgerald in 1985. The Milwaukee native owned the team for nearly 30 years until he sold it to Wes Edens and Marc Lasry for $550 million on April 16, 2014. He was the only senator to own a professional sports team.
“I am pleased, happy and delighted,” he said during a news conference when he purchased the team.