Former Commanders owner, FedEx Founder Dies at 80

The former co-owner of the Washington Commanders, Fred Smith, who owned part of the team from 2003 to 2021 and had his hands in professional football and the world of sports for most of the last half of his life, died on June 21 at 80 years old.

Smith’s son, Arthur Smith, was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 to 2023 and is currently the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“The Washington Commanders mourn the passing of Frederick W. Smith, FedEx founder and executive chairman,” the Commanders said in a statement. “Mr. Smith was a highly respected philanthropist and innovative businessman whose investments once included a minority stake in our team. He also proudly served our country in the US Marine Corps. We send our sincere condolences to Mr. Smith’s family and loved ones, as well as our friends across the FedEx organization.”

Smith led a group that purchased 40 percent of the Commanders under former owner Dan Snyder in 2003 and proceeded to spend the next 18 years in one heated battle after another with Snyder — on everything from changing the name of the team to Snyder re-acquiring some of the shares from Smith’s ownership group.

From ESPN: “The three minority owners had become disenchanted with Snyder and in 2020 had hired a firm to seek a buyer for their stake. That came at a time when Snyder was under pressure to change the team’ original name. Smith had been in favor of a name change, and FedEx, which had the stadium naming rights, issued a press release at the time saying it had informed the team it wanted it to change the name.”

Smith Tried to Bring NFL to Memphis in Early 1990s

Smith came from a wealthy Southern family who owned the Toddle House restaurant chain and were initial founders of the Greyhound bus service. He went to Yale in the mid-1960s and found himself friends and fraternity brothers with not only future U.S. president George W. Bush but future U.S. Senator John Kerry.

Smith served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star, Silver Star and 2 Purple Hearts, before returning home to Memphis and founding FedEx in the early 1970s. Smith had an estimated $5.3 billion net worth at the time of his death.

Smith also came close to bringing the NFL to his hometown in the early 1990s — Memphis was one of the finalists to get an NFL team in 1993 but were beaten out in favor of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Smith Endured Controversy, Tragedy in Life

In 1975, shortly after he founded FedEx, Smith was indicted on federal forgery charges after his 2 half sisters accused him of forging documents to obtain a $2 million bank loan. The same day of his indictment, Smith was involved a fatal hit and run in which he killed a local handyman — Smith was acquitted on the forgery charges and the hit and run case was later dismissed.

Smith’s children were high achievers — not just Arthur Smith. His daughter, famed natured photographer Windland Smith Rice, had her work featured in National Geographic as well as the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Smith’s daughter, Molly Smith, is also a celebrated film producer, with box office hits like P.S. I Love You, The Blind Side, Sicario and La La Land.