Bill Laurie

Bill Laurie (born July 5, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach and current business executive and philanthropist. He is the former owner of the St. Louis Blues and is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment.

Early life Laurie grew up in rural Missouri. While attending high school in Versailles, he played basketball, leading the scoring across the state of Missouri as a senior. He graduated from Memphis State University in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1974. While he was in college, Laurie was part of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team, and competed in the 1973 NCAA national championship game, lost to the UCLA Bruins.

Career He started his career as a teacher and a basketball coach, managing both the Christian Brothers College High School and Rock Bridge High School. He quit his job in 1983 to serve as the manager of the family real estate portfolio.

In 2003, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Missouri, for his "lifelong dedication and personal contributions to the betterment of sport and the spirit of sportsmanship... as a player, a coach, an executive and a benefactor." They have also endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri, According to the Los Angeles Times, they have also made charitable gifts for a cancer research center, a shelter for abused women, and a children's hospital.

They live at Crown Center Farms, a 350-acre equine farm in Columbia, Missouri, where they breed Appaloosa horses. On March 23, 2014, a barn on the property burnt down. The cause of the fire was ruled unintentional by the Columbia Fire Department. The Lauries have additional homes in Henderson, near Las Vegas, Nevada, and Bel Air, Los Angeles.