CHARLOTTE, N.C. — George Shinn, who conceived the Charlotte Hornets and brought the NBA to Charlotte, remains a busy man at age 81. He has married for the third time, become an avid cyclist and set a goal of living to 100.
“If I get close, I’ll be tickled,” Shinn said.
Shinn was the Hornets’ original owner and — because of Charlotte’s great attendance and merchandising success — also indirectly had a hand in the NFL deciding the Queen City was worthy of a pro football franchise. The young boy from Kannapolis who finished dead last in his high school graduating class found his pro sports opportunity in the late 1980s and capitalized on it, although he has now retired and is out of the sports business.
