NOTE:
The following is extracted from the 1983 USFL Media
Guide. Supplemental information follows.
Dr. Edward B. (Ted) Diethrich, president and majority
stockholder of the Blitz, is an internationally renowned
cardiovascular surgeon and is the founder and medical
director of the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix.
A Michigan native and graduate of the University of
Michigan Medical School, Dr. Diethrich became a protege
of the famed cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey
during his tenure at Baylor College of Medicine.
After six years in Houston, he moved to Phoenix to
establish the Arizona Heart Institute and he has guided
it into an internationally known clinic. Dr.
Diethrich also is president of the International Heart
Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to
research and education of heart disease.
Dr. Diethrich has frequently combined his medical and
surgical skills with his interest in athletics and
sports promotion. He has always maintained a
particular interest in sports medicine from the
cardiovascular point of view. For many years, Dr.
Diethrich lectured before numerous pro football teams,
coaches and owners on heart disease and his clinic has
been a site for thorough screening examinations. |
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Dr.
TED DIETHRICH
President and Owner
Chicago Blitz
(and later the Arizona Wranglers) |
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Dr. Diethrich chairs the USFL medical committee and also
directs the league's efforts in the area of substance
abuse.
Dr. Diethrich and his wife Gloria are the parents of two
children. Son Tad is a member of the Blitz front
office.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
Following a 1983 season which saw a competitive Chicago
Blitz team fail miserably at attracting fans, Diethrich
orchestrated a unique "trade" of franchises,
acquiring the Arizona Wranglers but taking most of the
Blitz players and coaches to Phoenix. The
"new" Wranglers went on to the 1984 USFL
Championship Game, but lost to the Philadelphia Stars,
23-3. Diethrich's club saw financial losses in
Phoenix only slightly smaller than those he'd seen in
Chicago, and after the season he sold the club to the
Tatham family, owners of the Oklahoma Outlaws.
Though seen by most as a merger, the deal was
technically an "acquisition of assets," ending
the Blitz/Wranglers saga. Diethrich, who founded
the Arizona Heart Institute in 1971, went back to his
cardiology practice, where he continues with it today as
AZHI's Medical Director. He can also be seen on
local Phoenix television on KTVK's "Good Day
Arizona." |
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