The founding owner of baseball's Florida Marlins and hockey's Florida Panthers has died.

  • Wayne Huizenga was first to own three professional sports teams
  • He also started Blockbuster Video and Waste Management Inc.
  • He was 80 years old

Wayne Huizenga, 80, also was the former owner of the Miami Dolphins.

The Marlins posted news about Huizenga's passing on Twitter. A longtime assistant to Huizenga spoke to the Associated Press but gave no details on the cause of death

"Today, we mourn the passing of the original Florida Marlin, Mr. H. Wayne Huizenga, who will be remembered as much for his contributions to South Florida professional sports as he was for his many charitable endeavors in the surrounding community," the team said.

He was the first man to own teams in three major sports leagues and also founded Blockbuster Video and Waste Management Inc.

Under his watch, the Marlins won the World Series in 1997, and the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1996.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins made eight trips to the playoffs.

He sold the Marlins in 1999 to John Henry, and sold the Panthers in 2001, unhappy with rising NHL player salaries and the stock price for the team's public company.

He also ordered a purge of the Marlins' roster after the 1997 championship, a move that angered many fans. Huizenga said the team lost $34 million that year. The following season, the Marlins lost more than 100 games.

Huizenga was also a multi-time recipient of Financial World magazine's "CEO of the Year" award, and was the Ernst & Young "2005 World Entrepreneur of the Year."