Jim Irsay

James (Jim) Irsay is the owner of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was born June 13, 1959 in Lincolnwood, Illinois to a Jewish father (Robert Irsay) and a Polish mother and later attended high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb just north of Chicago, Illinois. Irsay graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1982.

Jim Irsay was 12 years old when his controversial father Robert Irsay ("né" Israel) purchased the Baltimore Colts. After graduating from SMU, he began working for the Colts in 1982. He started by working at the ticket counter and then later in the team's public relations department. Jim was named general manager in 1984, one month after the Colts secretly moved to Indianapolis, without telling anyone outside of the organization or league. After his father suffered a stroke in 1995, Jim assumed day-to-day management of the team. When his father died in 1997, Jim had a legal battle with his stepmother but later became the youngest NFL team owner in history at age 37. He controls 100% of the franchise. Jim also has a habit of quoting rock music. It is rumored that he brings his guitar on Colts road trips and will play until 2 or 3 in the morning. In 2001, Jim Irsay purchased the original manuscript of "On The Road", or "the roll," a scroll typed in a three week marathon by Jack Kerouac for $2.43 million. Jim has also acquired original guitars owned by Elvis Presley, George Harrison, and Jerry Garcia.

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[http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3452329,00.html The Colts' Jewish roots]
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