Tom Hicks, the controversial former co-owner of Liverpool, has died at the age of 79.
Texas businessman Hicks owned the NHL’s Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2011, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. He also owned baseball’s Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2010, leading them to three American West Division titles and a World Series appearance. In 2007, he acquired a 50% stake in Liverpool along with fellow American investor George Gillett.
They sold Liverpool to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), now known as Fenway Sports Group (FSG), in October 2010. The sale was a forced deal by the club’s main creditor, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), to avoid the club going into administration.
(Image: Andy Stenning)
Hick’s spokesperson confirmed he died surrounded by family in Dallas on Saturday, December 6. His family released a statement on Sunday, December 7.
It read: “Of everything he accomplished in his remarkable life, Tom Hicks’s most cherished title was, ‘Dad.’ No matter the trials and tribulations he faced in life, he was constant in his generosity and love for his family.
“He remains a guiding force for our family, and we are deeply honoured to continue expanding his legacy. Although we are devastated by this loss, we are profoundly grateful to have been his children.”
Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool in February 2007 for £218m. They vowed to build a new stadium at Stanley Park, which would have replaced Anfield, but this never materialised.
They became extremely unpopular among Liverpool fans after piling debt on the club and a boardroom war broke out between them and Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry, while they also had explosive public battles with then manager Rafael Benitez.
Anger was also directed at the Hicks family when Tom Hicks’ son, Thomas O. Hicks, Jr, had to resign from the Liverpool board of directors after sending an abusive e-mail to a Liverpool fan saying: “Blow me f*** face. Go to hell. I’m sick of you.”
Fans protested against their ownership at matches and with marches ahead of games, before Hicks and Gillett fell out, and the club was eventually put up for sale in April 2010.
In June 2010, Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotherham tabled a motion in the House of Commons expressing dismay at the continuing ownership of the club, describing the pair as “asset strippers” and said the club was being “drained by their greed”.
On October 15, 2010, Hicks lost ownership of Liverpool. Despite numerous attempts to prevent it, the club was sold to NESV, for a fee believed to be around £300m, which was far below Hicks’ valuation of “between £600M and £1 billion”, by the club’s board of directors in a 3–2 vote.
Hicks branded it an “epic swindle” but the Wall Street Journal pointed out the asking price of £600-800 million took no account of the fact a new owner would have to spend £375m building the new stadium which Hicks and Gillett had promised and failed to deliver.
With the club at risk of going into administration, on September 7, 2010, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Hicks’s main creditor, placed the Texan’s indebtedness in the toxic debt category as he was considered unable to find refinancing or to pay off the debt.
The £300m sale of Liverpool fetched £80m more than Hicks and Gillett had paid for the club, but because more than £200m of debt had been piled on to the club, resulting in huge interest rates and penalty payments, the outgoing owners ended up losing an estimated £144m on their investment.
Hicks and Gillett’s era saw Liverpool fail to win a trophy, despite the fact Benitez had delivered the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup before their arrival, and during the dispute over their ownership he was sacked and infamously replaced by Roy Hodgson, who lasted just six months in the job.
Hicks is survived by his wife of 35 years, Cinda Cree Hicks, and his six children, Thomas Ollis Hicks Jr, Mack Hardin Hicks, John Alexander Hicks, Robert Bradley Hicks, William Cree Hicks and Catherine Forgrave Hicks.