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Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Team Owner Dies At His Santa Barbara County Home

Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snyder lost his battle with bladder cancer Monday, passing away at his Montecito home.

The founder and owner of the Philadelphia Flyers National Hockey League team has died at his Santa Barbara County home.

Ed Snider had been battling bladder cancer. Snider’s family owned a grocer story chain, and when they sold it, he used some of the money to become  partners with a group which bought the Philadelphia Eagles football team.

The team was sold a few years later, but when he learned the NHL was considering expansion to Philadelphia, he made plans to build an arena, and was awarded the hockey franchise, which began play in 1967.

Snider also served as chairman of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA team, and had a hand in founding a local cable sports network and the city's largest sport-talk radio station. His Flyers are currently headed to the NHL playoffs.

Snider died today at his Montecito home. He was 83 years old.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.