TAMPA, Fla. -- Malcolm Glazer, a self-made billionaire who shunned the spotlight while leading the takeover of English soccers Manchester United and transforming the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers into Super Bowl champions, died Wednesday. He was 85. The reclusive Palm Beach businessman had been in failing health since April 2006 when a pair of strokes left him with impaired speech and limited mobility in his right arm and leg. He was not involved in day to day operations of either of his sports franchises and was rarely spotted at games in recent years, instead remaining at his mansion in South Florida while entrusting leadership of the Bucs to three of six children, sons Bryan, Joel and Ed. While some disgruntled fans blame ownership for a stretch of futility that has seen the Bucs miss the playoffs the past six seasons, the elder Glazer generally will be remembered for making the commitment necessary to keep the team from moving to another city in the 1990s. Glazer raised his profile in 2005 with a $1.47 billion purchase of Manchester United that was bitterly opposed by fans of one of the worlds richest soccer clubs. Before that, his unobtrusive management style helped transform the Bucs from a laughingstock into a model franchise that won the franchises only NFL title 12 years ago. "The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the family tonight," Manchester United said in a statement. Born Aug. 25, 1928, in Rochester, New York, the son of a watch-parts salesman, Glazer began working for the family business when he was 8 and took over the operation as a teenager when his father died in 1943. As president and CEO of First Allied Corp., the holding company for the family business interests, he invested in mobile-home parks, restaurants, food service equipment, marine protein, television stations, real estate, natural gas and oil production and other ventures. Forbes ranked him this year, along with his family, as tied for No. 354 on the worlds richest people list with an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion. He purchased the Bucs for a then-NFL record $192 million in 1995, taking over one of the worst-run and least successful franchises in professional sports. And while Glazer once said he probably overpaid by $50 million, the value of the team has more than quadrupled. "Malcolm Glazer was the guiding force behind the building of a Super Bowl-champion organization. His dedication to the community was evident in all he did, including his leadership in bringing Super Bowls to Tampa Bay," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Malcolms commitment to the Bucs, the NFL and the people of the Tampa Bay region are the hallmarks of his legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Linda, their six children and the entire Glazer family." In an era when many owners of professional teams attract nearly as much attention as the athletes, Glazer was content to allow three of his sons handle daily operation of the Bucs and rarely granted interviews or visited the teams offices and training facility. But he was a fixture at games before his health became an issue, and he spent generously to acquire players and provide coaches and front office personnel with the resources to do their jobs. To fans accustomed to the frugal ways of original Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse, Glazer was a saviour. "With our major investment here, we didnt come in here to have a loser," Glazer said after acquiring the Bucs. In one of its boldest moves as NFL owners, the Glazer family fired Tony Dungy as coach after the 2001 season and paid a hefty price -- four draft picks and $8 million cash -- to the Raiders for the opportunity to sign Jon Gruden to a contract. The move paid off right away. Gruden led the Bucs to their first NFL title the following season, and Glazer joined in the celebration in the locker room. "He came from heaven and he brought us to heaven," Glazer said. "We were waiting for the right man and the right man came -- Jon Gruden." The Glazers didnt get a warm reception in the United Kingdom, where Man U fans protested and burned Glazers likeness in effigy because they feared the American was acquiring the storied British soccer franchise purely for financial gain. At the time, Mark Longden of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, said his group was "calling on all supporters to wear black. If they can get hold of black flags, they should wave them because it represents what is happening to the club." The club, though, has had success on the pitch, winning the League Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010, the English Premier League from 2007-09, 2011 and 2013 and European Cup and Club World Cup titles in 2008. Within a year of the leveraged buyout, Glazer had two strokes and his children ran the 20-time English champions, with all of them sitting on the board of directors and owning the remaining 90 per cent of the club that was not listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012. Although Uniteds debt has dropped from a high of high of $1.1 billion in 2008-09 to $590 million, anger toward the Glazers has remained among sections of the fan base. The familys divisiveness in Manchester has been exacerbated by its reluctance to engage with any supporters or speak publicly about the club. Despite its worst league finish in 24 years this season, United has been generating record revenue, each quarter, with income set to exceed $700 million in the 2013-14 financial year. Before he bought the Buccaneers, Glazer made failed bids to land an NFL expansion franchise for Baltimore and purchase the New England Patriots, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also tried to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Rupert Murdoch before turning his attention to Manchester United. "I will remember Malcolm Glazer as someone whose influence made a lasting impact on both ends of the Atlantic in the worlds two greatest sports leagues, the National Football League and the Barclays Premier League, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said. "But his greatest legacy may be in the state of Florida, where I am now fortunate to own the Jacksonville Jaguars. Malcolm brought to our state the Bucs, Super Bowls and of course a world championship in 2002. In essence, he helped turn a good football state into a great football state. He will be missed but always admired." Steve Pearce Red Sox Jersey . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. Red Sox Jerseys China . 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Drew Pomeranz Jersey . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. Bill Buckner Jersey . LOUIS - The St.The Edmonton Oilers took a bold approach to free agency, giving money and term to a couple of fancy stats darlings. Numbers Game breaks down the signings of Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne.. The Oilers Get: LW Benoit Pouliot, D Mark Fayne and D Keith Aulie. Pouliot, 27, has been a hockey nomad, bouncing from team to team in recent seasons, but hes been pretty good at each stop along the way. While playing for four different teams (Montreal, Boston, Tampa Bay, N.Y. Rangers) in the past four seasons, Pouliot has put up strong possession numbers in each stop and hes been a pretty effective goal-scorer in limited time. He had a career-high 36 points in 80 games for the Rangers last season. The issue that crept up with Pouliot, and was particularly notable during the Rangers Stanley Cup run, was his alarming tendency to take offensive zone penalties and that lack of discipline can be frustrating but, in the grand scheme, Pouliot has been drawing more penalties than he takes. He has good size and plays enough of a physical game to get under the skin of the opposition from time to time and Pouliots willingness to go to the net could give him a shot at a 20-goal season if he ends up playing a bigger role in Edmonton. Where Pouliot fits with the Oilers is a bit of a question. He looks like a third-line left winger -- thats the role that hes handled effectively -- and the Rangers do have enough talent on the right side that they could have some decent offensive production out of their third line. While Pouliot is lauded by those who appreciate advanced stats, most would do a double-take before signing any third-line winger to a five-year contract. Maybe five years and $20-million was the cost of doing business, but that does seem like a serious commitment, particularly if there isnt room for Pouliot among the Oilers top six forwards. The Rangers have some holes to fill up front, and knew that they would not be abble to get him re-signed at market prices, especially when the Oilers were willing to spend at this level.dddddddddddd Fayne is a 27-year-old defenceman who has good size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and plays a sound defensive game, something that is sorely needed in Edmonton. There were two defencemen in the league who played tough opposition, started more shifts in the defensive zone yet finished with a better shot differential per 60 minutes than Fayne. One was Zdeno Chara and the other was Faynes frequent partner, Andy Greene. The interesting part of that possession success is that, last season, Fayne was the weak link in that pairing -- Greene had much better possession stats (54.2 Corsi%) without Fayne than Fayne had (47.2% Corsi%) without Greene -- but that was a flip of the year before, when Fayne was at 57.2% without Greene and Greene was 54.4% without Fayne. Ultimately, Fayne has been a reliable defensive defenceman who should upgrade the Oilers and, signed for $14.5-million over four seasons, hes not unreasonably priced if he can handle top-four minutes in Edmonton. The Devils have some young defencemen on the way up, including Jon Merrill, Eric Gelinas and Adam Larsson, that can take over some of the minutes that Fayne had been playing. 25-year-old Keith Aulie is a 6-foot-6 defenceman who has played 136 career NHL games, but has been crushed in possession terms, over his four NHL seasons. Hard to imagine that hes anything more than a spare part, even for the Oilers. While Pouliot and Fayne arent marquee names, they have been quietly solid players for several seasons. While the Oilers went long on Pouliots term, they were aggressive to acquire a couple of players that ought to make them more competitive. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '