Former Cincinnati Bengals team president and part owner John Sawyer died Thursday in Cincinnati. He was 90 years old.
Sawyer was team president from 1968 to 1993 and is considered one of the Bengals’ founders. He worked alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown and his son Mike Brown in their bid to gain the original American Football League franchise in 1967.
“John was a pioneer with the Bengals” said Mike Brown, the Bengals’ current team president. “The team wouldn’t have come into existence were it not for his efforts. He was our original president and our primary owner for many years. We lost a critical business partner, as well as a close dear friend.”
Sawyer was also a former part owner of the Cincinnati Reds and a leader in the push for construction of Riverfront Stadium, which was built in 1970 and served as the home of the Reds for more than 30 years.
In addition to his responsibilities with Cincinnati’s professional sports franchises, Sawyer was president of J. Sawyer Co., an agricultural and real estate firm. Before that, he was a B-17 pilot in World War II and an innovator in aerial applications of crop pesticides. That achievement led to his induction into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame. He was the son of Charles Sawyer, who was a U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Sawyer was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth, and is survived by four daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.