James Busch Orthwein, at 84; onetime owner of Patriots who set stage for team resurgence

James Busch Orthwein (left) sold the New England Patriots to Bob Kraft in 1994. (Frank O'Brien/Globe Staff/File)

Best known in New England for his brief ownership of the Patriots - and for selling the football team to Robert Kraft - James Busch Orthwein was also a world-class fisherman, and one fish story tells much about the reticence he brought to his abbreviated tenure in the spotlight of Boston professional sports.

A descendant of the family that cofounded the Anheuser-Busch beer dynasty, Mr. Orthwein used to take fishing trips with his family off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, where as a youngster he met Ernest Hemingway. Some would have spun that into an oft-told tale of a brush with greatness, but Mr. Orthwein's recounting was as down to earth as his Midwestern roots.

"I knew him only casually," he told the Globe in 1992, not long after he bought the Patriots. "I didn't think very much of him, frankly. I thought he was something of a bully. With a beard, dirty and scary."

Mr. Orthwein died Friday at his home in Huntleigh, a suburb of St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that he had been suffering from cancer. He was 84.

In a statement, Kraft noted that while he did not know Mr. Orthwein well, "I did share one of my life's most memorable moments with him and my family back on Jan. 21, 1994. That was the day that I purchased the New England Patriots from Mr. Orthwein. . . . On behalf of my family, I would like to extend sympathies to the Orthwein family."

Although Mr. Orthwein only owned the Patriots for a little more than 20 months, in the eyes of some he made two changes that set the stage for the resurgence that followed his departure. He hired Bill Parcells as head coach, and the team drafted Drew Bledsoe to be its quarterback.

Nevertheless, there was no shortage of hard feelings during Mr. Orthwein's ownership. He was open to the possibility of moving the Patriots out of New England, which angered many fans.

Meanwhile, the franchise was wallowing in a trough of losses and dwindling popularity. The Patriots went 2-14 during Mr. Orthwein's first year as owner, and 5-11 the second. In September 1992, a few months after he took over, the team resorted to offering discount packages of tickets for $10 apiece - fans had to buy at least four - to boost advance sales for the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

A retired advertising executive, Mr. Orthwein was more businessman than fan when he ran the Patriots organization.

"Football is a consumer product," he told the Globe after the ticket promotion boosted advance sales by 10,000. "Just as beverages and other products fall into certain slots, football appeals to a certain audience, too. I do think that many of the marketing practices used with other products apply to professional football as well."

To his role as the owner of an NFL team, Mr. Orthwein brought a fierce competitiveness that at times was masked by the relaxed smile of a Midwesterner who had started out with considerable family wealth and turned it into an even larger fortune.

"I'm not a good loser," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1990. "I like to be a winner, whatever I take up, whether it's sports or business."

In the business column, owning the Patriots turned out to be a win.

Mr. Orthwein bought the team in a deal that totaled a little less than $110 million in payments and debt he assumed as part of the purchase. Two years later, Kraft purchased the Patriots for about $170 million, at the time the highest-price ever paid for an NFL franchise.

A great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch cofounder Adolphus Busch, Mr. Orthwein grew up in a household that benefited from business success on both sides of the family tree.

His father, Percy, was the son of successful grain broker and went on to help found an advertising agency.

Mr. Orthwein graduated from the Choate School in Wallingford, Conn., from Washington University in St. Louis, and joined his father's advertising firm in 1947. He took over the agency in 1970 and expanded it from St. Louis to offices worldwide by merging with other firms.

Retiring in 1983, he helped found Precise Capital, a private investment partnership.

Married three times, Mr. Orthwein had been divorced and widowed.

His fishing prowess led to catches that the International Game Fish Association certified as world records, the Post-Dispatch reported.

A horseman since childhood, he belonged to the Bridlespur Hunt Club, where he was master of the fox hounds for more than three decades, and also was a member of the Missouri Horseman's Hall of Fame.

"They used to say you had to fall 99 times before you were a good horseman. I did that - and then some - by the time I was 12," he told the Post-Dispatch in 1990. He added, "The ground gets harder every year, I'll tell you that."

When the St. Louis newspaper ran that profile of Mr. Orthwein, he was in his mid-60s and still swimming and exercising for 90 minutes before work each morning.

Two years later, after he bought the Patriots, he told the Globe: "I've always been a competitive person. It's better than retiring, and it will keep me active."

Details issued by his family did not list his survivors by name, but the Post-Dispatch reported that he leaves his wife, Lois; two daughters, Katherine Snowden of Ladue, Mo., and Romaine of New York City; and two sons, Percy and James, both of Delray Beach, Fla. His family said he also leaves nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services will be private.