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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020 15
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s
history.
Born on June 2, 1952, and
raised in Forest Hills, Gary
Bruce Bettman has been the
commissioner of the National
Hockey League since 1993.
Bettman currently lives
in Saddle River, N.J., with
his wife and three children.
His half-brother, Jeffrey Pollack,
was commissioner of
the World Series of Poker as
well as president of the XFL
football league.
While growing up in
Queens, Bettman graduated
from PS 174, Russell Sage Junior
High School and Forest
Hills High School. Following
high school, the Forest
Hills native attended Cornell
University, where he recalls
developing a love for hockey.
He was a season ticket holder
for all four years, and would
even camp out overnight
to buy tickets to see the Big
Red play. After graduating
Cornell, the future sports
executive went to law school
at New York University, earning
a law degree in 1977.
After working at a New
York law firm for several
years, Bettman started working
for the NBA in 1981.
While there, he became the
NBA’s general counsel and
helped develop the league’s
soft salary cap system still in
use today. In 1993, NHL team
owners hired the rising star
from Queens as their first
commissioner.
Bettman’s impact on pro
hockey has been profound.
By 2011, he oversaw an increase
in league revenues
from $400 million when he
entered the league to some
$3 billion. By 2018, seven new
teams had entered the market,
for a total of 31 franchises.
For his work overseeing
the league’s success, the commissioner
was named Sports
Executive of the Year by the
SportsBusiness Journal and
SportsBusiness Daily in 2014.
He was also inducted into the
International Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame in 2016, and
the Hockey Hall of Fame two
years later.
His tenure has not been
without controversy, however.
Traditionalist fans have
criticized him for trying to
give the sport more of a mass
market appeal and for expanding
the league into nontraditional
hockey markets
such as southern states.
During his term, Bettman
has also been involved in
three labor stoppages, including
the 2004-2005 NHL lockout
that resulted in the entire
season being cancelled. He
also announced in 2017 that
NHL players would not participate
in the 2018 Winter
Olympics, a move that made
him unpopular with the players.
As a result, he is often
booed by fans around the
league.
When asked if this chilly
reception bothers him, the
Commissioner replied, “Not
doing this job, no. You’re always
going to have critics.
What I’ve always told people:
If I take the ice and it’s completely
silent, then I’ll know
I’m in trouble.”
In an interview with the
NHL Network last month,
Bettman outlined the league’s
response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“We have a great deal of
flexibility in terms of when
we can start (the 2020-2021
NHL season). There’s no
magic for next season of
starting in October as we
traditionally do. If we have to
start in November or December,
that’s something that
will be under consideration,”
he said. “We’re going to try to
make good, prudent, careful
judgments…We’re going to
have to take things one step
at a time, because the health
and well-being of our players
is paramount to anything
we’re focused on,” he said.
For further info, call the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society at 718-278-0700 or
www.astorialic.org.
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