Carl+Pohlad+21+G6

=Carl Pohlad=

Overview
Carl Pohlad was born on August 23, 1915, to a poor Slovak family in Des Moines, Iowa. He grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa and graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines in 1934. He attended and played football for Compton Junior College in Southern California for a short time. Bing Crosby saw him play football and recruited him to play for his alma mater Gonzaga University in Washington. Pohlad attended Gonzaga but dropped out after the football season of his senior year. He was drafted to serve in WWII serving from 1943 to 1946. During his time in the service, Pohlad was scheduled to participate in the Normandy Invasion (D-Day), but a case of poison oak kept him out of the invasion's early stages. He was wounded in battle, and was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal. After the war he returned to Iowa, married Eloise O'Rourke Pohlad and later moved to Edina, Minnesota.

Central Issue
Pohlad got his start in the banking business by foreclosing farms during the Great Depression. After the Depression, he began getting investing in community banks. Over several decades, he built a banking empire. He bought deposits from The Midwest Federal Savings & Loan after its collapse in 1989. Eventually he sold his bank Marquette to U.S. Bank in 1992. Pohlad was also the Vice President of Pohlad Companies, which owns several companies both large and small, including Marquette Financial Companies, United Properties, River Road Entertainment, Stanton Group Holdings, Inetium, Arcadia Solutions, KTTB FM (B-96) Radio Station (through Northern Lights Broadcasting, a holding company, and JB Hudson's Jewelers in the Twin Cities, as well as a controlling interest in PepsiAmericas, the second largest bottling group in the United States. Because of Carl's great success in banking and entrepreneurship he went very far in life. Pohlad purchased the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise in 1984. A few years later, in 1987, the Twins won their first World Series and would win the World Series again in 1991. Carl also owned part of the Minnesota Vikings from the mid-1980's to 1991. Mr. Pohlad’s estimated net worth of $3.6 billion placed him No. 102 on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans this year. But he was already a very wealthy man when he bought the Twins from Calvin Griffith and his partners for close to $44 million. At the time, it was the second-highest price ever paid for a major league franchise. Carl Pohlad was a very successful man.

Conclusion
Carl Pohlad, a working-poor son of the Great Depression who became one of America's wealthiest dealmakers, died at his Edina home Monday. He was 93. The family, through a spokesperson, said Pohlad died in the presence of his three sons, their wives, many of his grandchildren and caregivers. Carl Pohlad never retired, even after making a fortune. He will be truly missed by the entire Twins community.

For Carl's Obituary in the Minnesota Star Tribune click on the link []