Ray Patterson, a man who played a big role in the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets franchises, has passed away at the age of 89 after battling heart and lung diseases.
Patterson was the president of the expansion Milwaukee Bucks, helping form maybe the most successful NBA expansion team ever (while keeping his job as the headmaster of a local private school). It helps when you can draft Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and get Oscar Robertson. Patterson was he president when the Bucks won the NBA title three years after their formation.
He then went south to help the Houston Rockets right after their formation. He was president there for many years and the team went to the finals twice and hosted the All-Star Game during his tenure.
His son, Steve Patterson, was he one-time Rockets general manager.