(As featured in Palm Beach North Sports Magazine)

Meet Rick Horrow

Have you ever watched a Heat, Panthers, or Marlins game on TV? Have you ever attended one of their games? Well, if you are reading this magazine there is a pretty good chance the answer is yes. While all three franchises have brought many accolades and championships to South Florida, what you might not know is if it wasn’t for a gentleman by the name of Rick Horrow, the Miami Dolphins might still be this region’s only professional sports franchise.
Rick Horrow got into sports in a unique and some might even say unconventional way. Sure, he loved watching sports as the rest of us did. He has even scored every baseball and football game that he’s ever watched since he was 7 years old and still has the scorebooks, but it was the business side of the game that truly got his eye. In fact, it was one day in law school at Harvard Law that convinced him that sports and sports business could be more than just a passion, but a career as well.

“The defining moment for me was my time at Harvard Law School,” Horrow explained. “I wanted to write my third-year thesis on sports violence and hockey fighting, but the criminal law professor rejected the idea because as he put it, ‘there is no such thing as sports law.’  Motivated, I challenged him to a squash game, won, and his side of the deal was that he would approve what became the sports law/sports business thesis at Harvard Law.  In retrospect, it probably legitimized the work that I have done in the business nearly 50 years ago.”

  Horrow took that passion, and degree, and became one of the most influential behind-the-scenes people in the modern sports landscape. In addition to the multiple books he has written about the business and politics behind sports, he has had an active role in bringing sports and performing arts building to cities and towns in some of the biggest markets in not just the United States but also around the world including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Indianapolis, Seattle, Houston, Brazil, Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago.

While none of this might have happened without a victory on the squash court against an old professor, it was also former Florida Governor and U.S. State Senator Bob Graham who gave a 25-year-old “kid” fresh out of school the chance of a lifetime. “I also owe gratitude to former Governor and Senator Bob Graham,” Rick said. “When I was a young lawyer toiling at a Miami law firm, he had the vision to work with me to create the initial South Florida Sports Authority/Dade County Sports Authority/Miami Sports Authority and advocate my role as Executive Director. Then 25 years old, I was in charge of bringing what ultimately became the Panthers, Heat, and Marlins to South Florida.  None of that would have been possible without his help and guidance.”

Today, Rick resides in Jupiter but his client list, both past, and present is filled with some of the biggest names and companies in sports on a global level. His Rolodex includes the NFL, NHL, MLB, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, Greg Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises, Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear International, MLS, the LPGA, the Portland Trailblazers, the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Mets, and the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). He also provides regular sports business content to ESPN and Sirius Radio, and contributes regular segments for Reuters, Fox, Sinclair, SportsGrid, and others.  Additionally, Horrow hosts a national monthly television show carried by Fox Sports/Bally Sports called “The Icons:  Leadership in Sports.'  He also has authored four books exploring the 50-year evolution of the $1.3 trillion business of sports.  All this while also actively participating in a variety of sports such as golf, tennis, racquetball, and other competitive sports.

Horrow was also recently named the Chairman of the newly formed Florida Sports Debate Advisory Council, expanding the growth of civics and debate in the state. Rick will be joined by representatives from local professional sports teams, facilities, and events, in addition to leaders from the local business, civic, and political communities.  He also continues to lecture as the Visiting Expert on Sports Business at the Harvard Law School. As for his reason for returning to the area and calling Jupiter home after he finished school? Well, you can thank Don Shula and the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins for that. “My passion for the Miami Dolphins and that 1972 team was one of the major reasons that I returned ‘home’ to South Florida after Harvard Law School to pursue the goal of delivering facilities and franchises in hockey, basketball, and baseball,” Rick said.