Ozzie Silna Dies at 83

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Ozzie Silna with John Zambetti at The Malibu Times Dolphin Awards ceremony

Longtime Malibu resident Ozzie Silna has died at the age of 83.

Silna died on Tuesday, April 26, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

He was given a Malibu Times Dolphin Award in 2002 for his extraordinary generosity and time committed to helping local causes. Over the years, Silna supported countless political and social causes in Malibu, including the Malibu Boys & Girls Club, Malibu High School, Webster Elementary School and Heal the Bay. He served on the board of directors of Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy, Santa Monica Baykeeper and Serra Retreat.

As treasurer of the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy, Silna was primarily responsible for arranging the largest private donation that Malibu received toward the purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site in 2005 — a $500,000 gift.

“The purchase of the Chili Cook-Off property is central to Malibu’s ability to resolve its longstanding water quality problems and to ensure that its rustic beauty is not destroyed by large-scale development along with the significant traffic increases it would bring,” Silna wrote in a letter to the editor dated September 2005. That site is now home to Legacy Park, located in Malibu’s Civic Center. The bridge over the pond at the park is named in honor of Silna.

Silna’s local legacy is apparent. After the story of his death went up on The Malibu Times website, several people reached out to share their feelings about their relationships and encounters with Silna.

“I’ve known Ozzie for 25 years,” local resident John Zambetti wrote. “He was a very humble and inspiring man, and devoted to his family. He helped many people without ever talking about it. While his financial generosity is important, he was never the kind of philanthropist who wrote checks in exchange for getting his name on a building. Ozzie also gave his time and expertise.”

Zambetti followed up in a phone interview with The Malibu Times that he witnessed Silna’s commitment to local causes firsthand when working with Silna on local boards, including Serra Retreat and the Serra Retreat Homeowners. 

“A lot of Malibu has been retained the way it is because of him,” Zambetti explained. “Besides the terrible loss for his friends and family, it’s a terrible loss for Malibu and the whole culture of Malibu because he really strove to maintain it.”

Zambetti shared that Silna had the “rare gift of common sense,” which he used to analyze situations and see things that were going to happen.

“He was very understated,” Zambetti said. “It wasn’t about him — it was what he could do for others.”

Other comments on the story include that “Ozzie was a great supporter of Our Lady of Malibu School,” “Ozzie was always a friendly guy and ready to have a good conversation with you” and “Ozzie was just a fantastic man, so charitable and always of good intention.”

Silna is known around the world for his involvement for what is routinely ranked as the greatest sports business deal of all time. In 1976, Silna and his brother Daniel were the owners of the St. Louis Spirits, a professional basketball franchise in the outlaw American Basketball Association (ABA). After years of competing with the dominant NBA for basketball fans, the ABA was folding, and the Spirits were not invited to join the NBA. 

The brothers rejected the cash payment. Their lawyer, Donald Schupak, instead made a counteroffer. The four ABA teams joining the NBA — San Antonio, New Jersey, Denver and Indiana — would give the Silnas a one-time payout of $2.23 million. The Silnas would also receive one-seventh of each team’s national broadcast revenues in perpetuity.

The total intake of Ozzie and Daniel Silna from the deal was $300 million. 

They sold their rights back to the NBA in 2014 for an additional $500 million.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement following Silna’s death.

“We were deeply saddened to learn that former ABA team owner Ozzie Silna has passed away,” Silver’s statement read. “Ozzie and his brother Dan owned the St. Louis Spirits at a time when the ABA’s future was uncertain, but he loved the game and was determined to be a part of professional basketball. We send our heartfelt condolences to Dan and the entire Silna family.”

A funeral for Silna took place last Thursday, April 28, according to Associated Press.