Stanley F. Bergstein was an
American sports executive died he was 87.. He was the executive vice president of the
Harness Tracks of America
from 1961 to 2011. He was the first person to be inducted into both the
Harness Racing Hall of Fame and it's Communicator's Hall of Fame.
(June 19, 1924 – November 2, 2011)
Bergstein died on November 2, 2011 after suffering from health problems for a year.
[1]
He died only nine months after he retired as vice president. He is
survived by his two children, Al and Lisa and four grandsons. His wife,
June, died in 2010, four days after their 60th wedding anniversary.
[2]
Born above a grocery store in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, to the grocer
Milton and his wife Esther, on 19 June 1924 and died in his home in
Tucson, Arizona on 2 November 2011 at the age of 87.
The most accurate obituary this writer has seen appears to be from the Chicago Tribune.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-08/news/ct-met-bergstein-obit-20111108_1_harness-tracks-phil-langley-harness-racing-hall
Also, Stan wrote a detailed article on his career before 1970 that
was republished in the 9 November 2011 "Horseman and Fair World" (which
is not yet available on the Internet as of this writing).
Served in WWII landing on Omaha Beach a few days after DDay. Fought
across Normandy with Patton's Army. Fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Was injured and received the
Purple Heart.
After returning from the war, graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
Worked in public relations for a variety of harness racing tracks in
the 1940s. Also spent time as announcer and car driver, PR and other
activities with the Harlem Globetrotters from approximately 1948 to
1952.
Married the model June Hanna in 1950. They had a son and daughter.
In 1961 he helped create Harness Tracks of America, a trade group
representing race track owners. He originally held the title of
Executive Secretary, but also ran day to day operations for the
organization. He held both that position and that of Executive Vice
President until his retirement in February 2011, at which time he took
the position of President Emeritus.
In 1968, he additionally joined, as the vice president of publicity
and public relations, the U.S. Trotting Association, the governing body
of the standardbred sport. He also became editor of the USTA's
award-winning monthly magazine, HoofBeats.
In the 1950s, he worked as an announcer at many race tracks around
America, including Sportsman's Part and Maywood Park in Chicago, Santa
Anita in Los Angeles, and numerous other tracks. He also appeared on
television as both color commentator and announcer for such premiere
race events as The Little Brown Jug, and The Hambeltonian, later in his
career.
Bergstein was also a reader of horse pedigrees, which is a
specialized skill requiring a knowledge of horse lineage. He was hired
by major auctioneers, such as the late George Swinebroad and others, at
the fall sales events in Lexington, Kentucky; Harrisburg Pennsylvania
and other locations. Eventually he became a certified auctioneer, and
ran his own sales for a couple of years in the 1970s.
He also ran a small bookstore specializing in harness horse books and
magazines, out of his home, eventually compiling one of the largest
private collections of books on the subject, according to Stan's
knowledge of other booksellers and private collectors. He sold the bulk
of the library in the 1980s to a buyer from Sweden.
In the 1970s and into the 1980s he was co-anchor on a television show
on WOR-TV in New York City, broadcasting harness racing in conjunction
with the State's then new Off Track Betting industry.
He ended his working relationship with USTA in the mid-1970s, but
remained a close business associate with the organization until his
death.
In the 1970s he created the "World Driving Championship", yearly
series of races from top drivers and horses from around the world. The
Driving Championship would take the drivers and horses to races in
Europe, Australia, United States and Canada, among other countries.
Bergstein also created a yearly convention of the harness racing
industry, managing the event. He was a keynote speaker, and also was
master of ceremonies at many annual events over the decades.
Bergstein owned a series of harness horses during his life, and also was partner in a number of horse breeding operations.
Moved with his wife June to Tucson Arizona in the 1980s, moving the offices of HTA there as well.
Created a relationship between HTA and the University of Arizona's
racing industry studies program,and strove to hire it's graduates to his
organization. Many of his hires went on to significant roles in the
harness racing industry.
Health problems and the natural aging process led him to retire from
HTA in February 2011. He was still writing a number of weekly columns
for various journals at the time of his death.
To see more of who died in 2011
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