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By ALYCE BROWN
Nancy Leonard, a beloved leader of the Indiana Pacers franchise
who helped save it from financial ruin during its ABA-NBA
transition, has died at 93, her family said.
Leonard’s family released a statement through the IndyStar
saying the matriarch's health steadily declined in recent months
and she died Tuesday.
“Before every game, I knew I could count on a wink and smile
behind the bench,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton wrote on social
media. “There is no Pacers basketball without Nancy Leonard.
Can’t wait to see the day her name is in the rafters where it
belongs.”
Leonard, who was married to late Hall of Fame Pacers coach Bobby
“Slick” Leonard, was the Pacers' assistant general manager from
1976 to 1980.
She and her husband were credited with the idea to run a
season-ticket telethon that saved the organization from economic
collapse in 1977.
“Quite simply, we would not be here without her,” Pacers Sports
& Entertainment ownership wrote in a statement. “From the
earliest days of the franchise, Nancy poured her heart and soul
into the team, not just as the wife of Slick Leonard, but as a
female trailblazer who rallied the community when we needed it
most.”
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