We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Group led by logistics titan Jim Crane to buy Houston Astros
newsworthy

Group led by logistics titan Jim Crane to buy Houston Astros

May 16, 2011
Mark B. Solomon
No Comments

Jim Crane has finally made it to the big leagues. Major league baseball, that is.

Crane, one of the most successful transportation/logistics entrepreneurs of the past 20 years, heads a group that will buy the Houston Astros baseball club from current owner Drayton McLane for $680 million. The transfer of ownership is expected to be announced at a press conference today at 3 p.m. Eastern time in Houston.

In 1984, Crane founded Houston-based Eagle USA Airfreight on a shoestring. Over the next 23 years, he built Eagle (eventually renamed EGL) into a global logistics powerhouse. In the late 1990s, EGL came close to merging with the old Air Express International Corp. (AEI), another major logistics company. But the deal collapsed over a power struggle between Crane and an equally strong-willed executive, AEI CEO Guenter Rohrmann.

A group led by Crane tried unsuccessfully to take EGL private in 2006 for $1.2 billion. The following year, Ceva Group plc acquired EGL for $2 billion. After a one-year hiatus due to a non-compete clause, Crane in 2008 formed logistics company Crane Worldwide, following the same strategy and execution that made him successful at EGL.

Crane has tried three other times to buy a major league baseball franchise. He sought to purchase the Astros once before, and also pursued ownership of the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.

Crane is as well known for his prowess as a golfer as he is as a logistician. He began caddying at an early age and leveraged his love of the game as much for business purposes as for pleasure. In 2006, Golf Digest named him the top golfer among all CEOs, with a 0.8 handicap index. Crane always kept a set of clubs in his private jet, and proficiency in the game was a prerequisite for hiring for executive positions at Crane's companies.

Crane believed that some of his best business deals were consummated on the golf course and insisted that his top executives understand the game's role in corporate life as well as their personal pursuits.

Transportation Air
KEYWORDS Crane Worldwide EGL Eagle Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    Andrew Barnes joins Crane Worldwide Logistics in the United Kingdom to add further experience and knowledge to the UK Country team.Andrew Barnes joins Crane Worldwide Logistics in the United Kingdom to add further experience and knowledge to the UK Countr

    Group led by UPS deploys technology enabling recharge of larger EV fleet

    Crane Worldwide Logistics Announces New 500,000 Square Foot Facility in Savannah, Georgia

  • Related Events

    Three Strategies to Get Ahead of E-commerce Fulfillment Demands

Marksolomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Recent Articles by Mark Solomon

Coming together for road safety: interview with Joshua Girard

Off the rails

Freight rate spikes shaking up the C-suite

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Growing up … and up and up: interview with Sam Bertram

  • Old Dominion adds nine freight service centers to handle business growth

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories.The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing