Howard Darwin

Howard Joseph Darwin (September 10, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was a Canadian businessman and sports team owner. Among his businesses, he owned the Ottawa 67's, London Knights and Ottawa Lynx sports franchises.

Personal life He was born and grew up in Ottawa. By then, Howard was already selling newspapers on Ottawa streets and delivering newspapers to Ottawa military bases. In 1954, Darwin married Connie Goudie. They raised four children together: Kim, Nancy, Jack and Jeff. Darwin died at the Ottawa Civic Hospital at the age of 78 from complications following heart surgery.

Business career Darwin dropped out of high school at age fourteen and sold newspapers for a number of years. He then apprenticed as a jeweller and opened a watch repair shop on Nicholas Street. In 1955, he moved his store to Wellington Avenue, west of Holland Avenue, where it operated until 1991. In the 1960s, besides being involved in sports promotion, he started investing in real estate. He and Gordon Henderson established Ottawa Cablevision in 1965 (purchased by Maclean-Hunter in 1989, which after was purchased by Rogers Cable in 1994), the first cable television provider in Ottawa. He sold his share of the London Knights in 1987 to local businessmen.

In 1993, Darwin brought a triple-A baseball team, the Ottawa Lynx, to Ottawa after having lobbied for the construction of the Lynx Stadium. The club won the International League championship in 1995. Darwin sold the club in 2000 for $7 million to Ray Pecor. He had purchased it in 1993 for $5 million. The team eventually moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2008.

The Merivale Centennial Arena in Ottawa was renamed the Howard Darwin Centennial Arena three years after his death.