Sitting in a quiet Calgary restaurant nestled in the heart of a city he gave endlessly to, Clay Riddell looked out the window and smiled.
“It was a stupid decision,” said the then 80-year-old billionaire, facetiously, before breaking into a laugh over how he came to be a Calgary Flames owner.
“I don’t think anybody bought into the Flames as a business. Certainly when I bought in it wasn’t a good business. It was to keep hockey here. That’s why Harley (Hotchkiss) and Doc (Seaman) brought it here – to have hockey here. Not to make money.
“When I joined the Flames ownership group in 2003 they had lost money for 10 years and they were starting to lose $10 million a year and they just needed help. The only reason I joined the group was to keep the Flames in Calgary because I thought we needed an NHL team and there was no reason we shouldn’t have one.”
His family revealed Sunday that Riddell had passed away on Saturday, with his family by his side, following a brief illness.
He was 81.
[relatedlinks]
An oil baron, a restaurateur, a golf fanatic, a family man and one of the nation’s richest men, Riddell was best known for his philanthropy, which earned him the Order of Canada in 2008.
Massive donations to the University of Manitoba, Carleton University, Mount Royal and the Alberta Children’s Hospital earned his public kudos over the years, but many believe they paled in comparison to the donations the geologist grad made quietly.
It was Riddell who came up with the idea to bring the Shaw Charity Classic to Calgary, which raised $22 million in five years for more than 180 charities affecting half a million kids in Alberta. Tourney officials will soon announce this year’s total, which is expected to be another $10 million.
Quite a legacy for the man pegged as having a net worth of $1.1 billion in 2018 by Forbes Magazine.
“He said, ‘We should all just do what we can,’” said close friend Ken King, CEO of the Calgary Flames’ parent company. “He said, ‘Some can do things with time and some can do things with money.’
“What he did for the Flames came at a critical time but he wasn’t about making an investment in sports – it was about supporting sports. He did that with the Shaw Classic and so many things – it was about, ‘What good can we do for this city?’ Not only all over the city, but this country.”
Another noted Calgary philanthropist, W. Brett Wilson, met and started doing business with Riddell in 1993 as part of a relationship he forever treasured.
“I looked at him more as a mentor than a client and friend,” said Wilson, who owns a piece of the Nashville Predators.
“He was someone everyone would want to emulate. In terms of character traits – he was all about integrity. You didn’t need paperwork with Clay Riddell – you just needed a handshake.”
Riddell founded many oil and gas companies during his career, including Paramount Resources, which he ran from 1974 until 2015 when he handed the reins to son Jim.
His daughter, Sue Riddell Rose, runs Perpetual Energy and she is a subject in one of his favourite golf stories.
A former eight handicap who played endlessly at Canyon Meadows, Riddell was thrilled when his wife, Vi, got a hole in one on the 14th hole at Radium Springs. A couple years later so did Sue on the very same hole.
As pressure mounted to replicate their feat, Clay eventually jugged one from the exact same tee box.
Problem was, he did so while simply testing a pal’s 9-wood out after hitting his original tee shot.
Not surprisingly, he eventually notched a true ace. You guessed it – on the very same hole.
“I don’t think he ever missed a fairway,” smiled King. “He played golf the way he lived – just steady. When it came time to pay the bets he did more collecting than giving.”
Apparently the golf course is the only place he rarely gave.
“Golf is the greatest way in the world to spend four hours,” he once told me during a round at the Calgary Golf and Country Club, which overlooks a camp for disabled kids he supported for decades.
A leader in every sense of the word, Riddell was lauded by Gary Bettman and many across the country as news spread of his passing.
“He was a titan of our community — in industry, philanthropy, education, and sport,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi in a statement about a man who never sought the spotlight.
“Calgarians feel his legacy now, and we will feel it for many years to come. My heart goes out to his family and friends in this difficult time. Know that we all mourn with you today.”
His death leaves Alvin Libin, Murray Edwards, Jeffrey McCaig and Allan Markin as surviving owners of the Flames.
And leaves a gaping hole in a city and province that could use more Clay Riddells now, more than ever.
