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After Spectrum roof blew off, Snider took a big risk
But few would argue that Snider, his Flyers and the Spectrum have been anything but a positive force for the region's image and its economy. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup at a time when Philadelphia was widely known as the "City of Losers," and their success is seen by many observers as the starting point for the subsequent revival of the city's image.
And, if the Flyers' victories were the catalyst for Philadelphia's new formula for success, the head chemist was clearly Edward Malcolm Snider.
"Jerry Wolman put the whole Spectrum deal together," Longstreth recalled. "He was great at creating things, but he didn't run it well. Snider took it over and proved to be one of those extraordinary entrepreneurs who has the ability to inundate whatever he does with money."
According to Longstreth and others who have been associated with Snider over the years, his personality has remained consistent. To those he perceives as competent and loyal, he can be fiercely devoted.
For instance, when former Flyers star Bernie Parent was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in September 1984, Snider wept openly at the ceremonies in Toronto. And when Bobby Clarke decided to retire as a player, Snider was quick to assure Clarke's future with an immediate offer of the Flyer's general managership.
At the same time, Snider can be a ruthless businessman, and he has little patience with people whose competence he doubts, associates say. He replaced Flyers president Bob Butera in 1983 when it may have been more expedient to keep him, associates say. Butera, a former state representative, was politically well-connected.
"Ed Snider's parted ways with a lot of people over the years," one former associate said.
At present, Snider appears to be devoting more of his time to interests other than Spectacor. He is an avid disciple of Ayn Rand, a writer who espoused a doctrine of unbridled individualism, and is backing the creation of an institute in Los Angeles for the study of her work. ...
In a telephone interview from his Maine summer home, Snider reminisced about his success.
"I had decided to bring a National Hockey League franchise into Philadelphia. And to do that, the Spectrum had to be built," he said. "We would build the arena with private funds, and the city would get extra revenue without spending a dime. Everyone thought it was a fabulous deal at the time.
"So we started the construction, and Wolman and I ended our partnership. I got the Flyers, he got the Spectrum. When the Spectrum went bankrupt, I stepped in and paid off the debts, 100 cents to the dollar.
"I guess the Flyers were the key, since they generated the funds that allowed us to get the Spectrum. And later on, we were able to start Prism."
But Snider exhibited his characteristic confidence when asked if he considered the revival of the Spectrum a gamble at the time.
"Everyone seemed to feel that I was taking a terrific gamble on a property that was a real turkey," he said. "But I felt confident that it would succeed. In fact, it would have succeeded from day one, if it had been run right."
