Herman Weiner, steel magnate and philanthropist, dead at 88

Sunday December 15, 2002

LOS ANGELES (AP) Herman L. Weiner, a steel industry executive who served as a behind-the-scenes force in California's collegiate and professional sports scene, has died. He was 88.

Weiner died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of cardiac arrest after several weeks in a coma, said his son-in-law, Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz.

From 1947, when he helped his father start Weiner Iron & Metal Co., until he sold what became Weiner Steel Corp. in 1990, Weiner built what his son Steve said was the largest industrial scrap metal recycling company west of Chicago.

But the man whose dreams of a major league baseball career were derailed by a college injury always remained involved in sports.

In partnership with attorney Ed Hookstratten, Weiner almost became owner of a National Football League franchise in Los Angeles, according to Spitz.

Weiner, as someone who knew 24 of the league's 28 owners, had more than enough votes to get approval for an expansion team, Spitz said. Weiner's dream was thwarted, however, when Al Davis abruptly moved the Oakland Raiders (now back in Oakland) to Los Angeles.

Spitz, who won seven gold medals in swimming events at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, and two additional medals later, also credited Weiner with serving as his agent when Spitz, then in his 40s, attempted a comeback in competitive swimming.

``My father-in-law thought I was getting too fat. He said to me, `Why don't you get off your can and exercise?''' Spitz told a Los Angeles Times sports columnist in 1989. Spitz did as advised and trained unsuccessfully for Olympic events in Barcelona, Spain.

Born in East Los Angeles, Weiner earned a baseball scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. There he built such a record, his son said, that one San Francisco sports columnist labeled him the ``Jewish Dizzy Dean.''

But a knee injury he suffered while playing center field prevented him from making the majors.

With his father, who died in 1964, and other members of the family, Weiner established the Charley DiGiovanna and Fred Haney Trophies given annually to inspirational Los Angeles Dodger and California Angel baseball players.

Weiner contributed to college scholarships and helped recruit and support students at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, and Utah State. He also served as president of Berkeley's booster club in Southern California.

Weiner is survived by his wife of 60 years, Trudy, his son, two daughters and eight grandsons.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)