Fantasy Football Owner to Professional Sports Teams Owner. What??

I have been asked many, many times “how did you become an owner of a professional sports team?”

Tim Held - Owner of the Indianapolis AlleyCats

The journey began as a kid growing up in Northwest Indiana. The term sports fan was created for people like myself. I was a sports fanatic! I loved playing sports and cheering for my favorite teams with a passion. With limited ability to watch the games in my generation, I turned to the Chicago Tribune for statistics and followed the box scores regularly. I had an incredible memory for numbers and could quote players statistics like the alphabet.

It was in my 20s when I first began to hear about this thing called “fantasy sports.” Being a sports fanatic, I was intrigued and jumped right in without hesitation. I began to compete against people all over the country. It was a fun experience, but I wasn’t thrilled with the formulas used to put values on each specific statistic and quite frankly, the final scores just weren’t realistic. Baseball scores cannot be 102-71. I knew that I could create a better formula, by using values of each statistical category with the aim of creating scores that were more representative of actual professional results.

Sponsored by our partners at HUSE CULINARY

I worked diligently, crunching statistics for several months to test each formula. My efforts paid off, and it seemed to be working to perfection. Yet, there was one big challenge that lay ahead. I wanted to be sure that I was able to get reliable statistics and not be dependent on the Chicago Tribune to be my statistical resource. This would be a huge challenge. At this time there was no internet. I did not even own a computer!

I needed to purchase a computer and would also need it programmed specifically for my use. I had yet to create a business plan or didn’t even consider different ways that I could monetize my business. My focus was all about making sure the product was working to perfection and then believe the results would follow. With no experience, I pushed on. I acquired an AP sports ticker and the game results would come straight to my den in real time. There it was, running 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, transforming my bachelor pad into “sports geek central”. I will never forget the sound of the dot matrix printer at 2:30 am after a west coast extra-inning baseball game.

Tim threw out the first pitch at a Gary Southshore Railcats Game

Deep inside, I felt confident fantasy sports could become something much bigger than it was. I was certain I could create a game played and loved by millions. Fast forward to today, the fantasy sports industry has exploded in popularity. In 2022, more than 62 million people joined fantasy sports leagues globally.

My next venture was retail. With no experience, but with a passion for sports and a vision for the now exploding sports licensed industry, All Stars Sports was created. The same passion, hard work and attention to detail allowed me to continue my career in sports. I opened my first store with barely 1,000 square feet of retail space. I began to realize the need to create a bigger and better retail experience to meet the demands of a sophisticated consumer. My lone store grew to a small regional chain of 8 stores and by 2010, I was even recognized as “Sports Retailer of the Year” by The Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show.

Then I was introduced to Josh Moore, who was forming the American Ultimate Disc League. My only ultimate experience was in the spring of my senior year in high school. I remembered having a blast playing this new, crazy game. Even without proper coaching and limited knowledge of the rules, I was having the time of my life. My college years were spent playing all my other favorite sports and from there ultimate became out of sight, out of mind.  It had been 30 years since I last played. Could this be a professional sport, I asked myself?

2019 Division Winning Team

Once again, I had the same thoughts as when I began my other sports ventures. Without experience this wouldn’t be easy, but what I had was a burning desire to succeed and a vision for something new. I thought about it for a long while, going back and forth considering if I could put together an organization the size needed to compete at the highest level of a professional sport. This would become another huge challenge. There was no “fantasy” about it. This would be a dream come true and in 2012, in partnership with my brother Thom the Indianapolis AlleyCats were born!

I remember hugging Brodie Smith and him lifting me off the ground after we finally won our first game. I recall the thrill of storming the field after our first walk-off winner. Seeing Nick Hutton on ESPN, wearing his AlleyCats jersey and being recognized for Play of the Day was simply surreal. There have been so many great moments and I’ve witnessed so many amazing plays. The wins are exhilarating, the losses excessively painful, but the experience is unmatched. My greatest joy may have been the moment I looked across the field at future Hall of Famers, Keenan Plew and Cameron Brock. With tears in their eyes, I sensed this great feeling of accomplishment after we defeated Pittsburgh for a berth at Championship Weekend. This was only achieved by an entire organization committed to winning.

(l to r) Keenan Plew, Tim Held, Cameron Brock

Being an owner of a professional sports team is a challenge, like no other. I’m not sure anything truly prepares you to own and operate a professional sports start-up. Yet, just like owning a fantasy sports business or a sports retail store, one needs an extreme amount of passion, commitment and a relentless level of determination to persevere.

It's been an incredible journey. I look at the AlleyCats family from the early years to the present. Each player has brought their own talents, personalities and passion to the team. They are the ones who trained countless hours to achieve their dreams of playing professional ultimate. Playing for the love of the game, they work tirelessly to pave a path for future generations of ultimate players and fans. I couldn’t have done it without the hundreds of players, the coaches, staff, media and now my new partners who bring amazing talents and that same energy it takes to be successful. I must continue to set the vision and be willing to match their efforts to bring Indianapolis a league championship.

(l to r) Michon (daughter), Tim Held, Mallory (daughter)

Chase your dreams and surround yourself with positive people.

Find ways to make it happen rather than reasons or excuses it won’t work.

In the words of Jimmy Valvano “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up”.