Nationals owner Ted Lerner, who helped bring baseball back to DC, dead at 97

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Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner has died at 97 after complications with pneumonia, a team spokesperson said via Yahoo! Sports. 

Lerner was the Nationals’ founding principal owner who helped bring baseball back to the nation’s capital. The real estate tycoon and lifelong baseball fan died at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

"I have great appreciation for Ted’s impact on his hometown and the game he loved," Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement via MLB.com. "On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ted’s entire family, including Annette Lerner, Mark Lerner and Judy Lenkin Lerner, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum and Robert Tanenbaum, and Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen."

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Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner speaks during a parade to celebrate the Washington Nationals World Series victory over the Houston Astros on November 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. This is the first World Series win for the Nationals in 95 years. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Lerner had quite the life story, beginning with being an usher at the old Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. as a boy. 

He gained his wealth after beginning his real estate company at 26 years old after borrowing $250 from his wife, Annette. Lerner Enterprises became a staple in the D.C. area, and the Nationals became a serious project of Lerner’s when the Montreal Expos were relocated in 2004. 

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"The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved – and with it, bringing a