Bob Woolf

Bob Woolf (February 15, 1928 – November 30, 1993) was an American sports agent and lawyer. One of the first sports agents, he "ushered in the era of the millionaire sports celebrity" as the agent for athletes including Carl Yastrzemski, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, and Julius Erving. Noted for both his skill as a negotiator and his ethics, the New York Times wrote: "There is something sternly Calvinistic about Woolf's conviction that when you make a commitment you must honor it."

Early life and education Woolf was born in Portland, Maine. His father, Joseph R. Woolf (Wolfiwicz), was a physician who had immigrated from Belarus. His mother, Anna Rose née Glovsky, was born in Salem MA, the daughter of immigrants from Ottoman Palestine. His family moved to Boston when he was a teenager, and at 16, he started The Woolf Supply Company of New England, buying and selling factory-direct household items to retailers. A standout basketball player, he graduated from Boston Latin, and attended Boston College on a four-year basketball scholarship. He earned his JD from Boston University School of Law. Woolf passed the bar prior to his graduation.

Career Woolf spent two years in the Army after earning his degree and opened a law firm in Boston following his discharge. A trial attorney, he won 52 of 56 jury trials.

Woolf closed his law office in 1971 to focus full-time on representing athletes. Within five years, he had signed 300 players. Based in Boston, his office overlooked Fenway Park.

Personal life Woolf's main residence was in Brookline, Massachusetts. He had three other houses in Massachusetts, as well as homes in Portland, Maine, Marina del Rey, New York; and Jerusalem. They had three children, Tiffany, Gary, and Stacey, who began the literary division at her father's company.