Gerald Phipps

Gerald H. Phipps (March 4, 1915 – August 6, 1993) was a businessman and sports executive. He was president of Gerald H. Phipps, Inc., a construction company and owner of the Denver Broncos American football club from 1961 to 1981. Early life Gerald Phipps was born on March 4, 1915 in Denver, Colorado. He was the son of Lawrence Phipps, who would serve as a senator for Colorado from 1919 to 1931. He was educated in various schools as a child that ranged from Washington, D.C. to California. He studied at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1936 with a bachelor's degree with a major in English literature. Later that year, he began work at the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, working as a clerk in its transportation department. He later worked as a secretary to the superintendent of transportation, a special apprentice, and later the traffic department. World War II brought him into working for the Naval Reserve. His knowledge of transportation led to him being given a commission in the Navy through the Bureau of Ordinance, which mainly dealt with him handling correspondence. He later did work with his uncle Platte Rogers at his construction company in Pueblo, Colorado which dealt with building construction, both heavy and highway. Phipps was asked to be president of the Denver division, which paid off into purchasing the division years later. When his uncle retired and closed every operation in the company but the aforementioned Denver office, Phipps was inspired to expand to the Pikes Peak Region for what became Gerald H. Phipps General Contractors in 1952, taking the lessons of his father to heart in wanting to put people to work for projects that would help the community. Sports ownership In 1961, a syndicate was formed by Calvin Kunz to help buy Rocky Mountain Empire Sports, which operated the expansion Denver Broncos, who were created by founder Bob Howsam. They bought it for less than $1 million. Gerald and Allan Phipps were part of the syndicate, with Gerald being chairman of the board; the Phipps brothers held 42% of the stock. Phipps was chairman of the National Football League Finance Committee from 1970 to 1981. Kunz served as team president. In 1965, the Broncos were close to moving out of Denver, spurred by a lack of ticket sales (7,996 season tickets were sold the prior year).