William Shea

William Alfred Shea was an American lawyer, philanthropist, civic leader and sports team owner. He co-founded the law firm of Shea & Gould in 1964 and established the Continental League with Branch Rickey, which was instrumental in breaking down the Major League Baseball expansion barrier leading to approximately half of the existing MLB teams being accepted into Major League Baseball, including the New York Mets whose home stadium, Shea Stadium, was named in his honor from 1964-2008. Shea was a minority owner of the Washington Redskins prior to selling his interests to Jack Kent Cooke and served on the boards of the NFL's Washington Redskins, MLB's New York Yankees, and the NHL's New York Islanders, among many others. Shea was an ardent supporter of many civic, children's and Catholic charities, including, the American Ireland Fund, the National Center for Disability Services, the Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, Catholic Charities, and Little League Baseball. Shea was offered shares of the New York Mets in exchange for the services rendered on behalf of the City of New York regarding the team; however, Shea turned down the offer, stating he would not accept monetary gain in exchange for something he considered a civic action.