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His daughter, ESPN broadcaster Hannah Storm,
said her father died in Atlanta due to complications from
cancer.
Among Storen's early sports jobs was running the ABA's Indiana
Pacers as their first general manager beginning in 1967.
The Pacers wrote in a statement Thursday, "It is impossible to
overstate the impact Storen had on our franchise and the
American Basketball Association, for which he would later serve
as commissioner. He paved the way for the Pacers' eventual entry
into the NBA by putting together a talented front office and
assembling a roster led by eventual Hall of Famers Roger Brown
and Mel Daniels.
"He hired Hall of Famer Bobby 'Slick' Leonard as head coach in
the Pacers' second season, was instrumental in choosing the name
'Pacers,' designed the team's first logo and chose its blue and
gold colors. Storen was the first captain of the ABA's flagship
franchise and the foundation for the tradition of success the
Pacers maintain to this day. We offer our most sincere
condolences to his family."
Storen became co-owner and general manager of the ABA's Kentucky
Colonels in 1969 before taking over as the ABA's commissioner in
1973.
He later was part owner of the ABA's Memphis Sounds.
The Atlanta Hawks hired Storen as president and GM in 1977. He
also had stints in the front offices of the World Football
League's Memphis Grizzlies and Major League Baseball's Houston
Astros.
Storm tweeted a statement Thursday night that read, in part,
"I'm so proud of my dad's legacy -- as a distinguished member of
the US Marines he helped launch the now-famous Toys for Tots
program -- and then forged a decades long sports career, as an
executive for teams such as the Baltimore Bullets, Cincinnati
Royals, Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Memphis Sounds,
Atlanta Hawks and baseball's Houston Astros as well as
football's Memphis Grizzlies and the IPFL. His proudest
accomplishments are from his days as Commissioner of the
American Basketball Association.
"His creativity was evident everywhere and he was instrumental
in the success and legacy of that league; the name, Mike Storen,
is still there on any old ABA basketball you might come across
and I take comfort in that."
--Field Level Media
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