John Pickett (businessman)

John Olen Pickett, Jr. (born August 30, 1934) is an American businessman who was owner and Board Chairman of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League during their dynasty period in the 1980s.

John O. Pickett, Jr. grew up in Texarkana, Texas on a ranch owned by his parents, John Olen Pickett, Sr. (1908-1971) and Anna Mae (Gill) Pickett (1911-1999), and later attended the University of Arkansas. Pickett moved to Long Island after earning his fortune as a private investor. He owned management-consultant firms in Chicago and Palm Beach and first became interested in hockey after attending New York Rangers games during business trips to New York during the late 1950s.

John Pickett was originally a limited partner in the original Islanders' ownership group, headed by Roy Boe. He purchased a small share in the team for $100,000 in 1972 at the request of Boe, who was then a casual acquaintance. However, by 1978, the Islanders were sinking under the weight of serious financial problems, and Boe was forced to put them up for sale. No buyers turned up at first, however. Finally, general manager Bill Torrey engineered a sale to Pickett, a restructuring specialist, who rewarded him with the team presidency. Pickett restructured the team's finances with a view towards making them a viable long-term franchise on suburban Long Island.

Not long after closing on the Islanders' purchase, Pickett signed a very lucrative cable contract with the then-one-year-old SportsChannel New York (later Fox Sports New York and now MSG Plus). In doing so Pickett and SportsChannel's owner, Charles Dolan, became true visionaries in sports media. The deal not only ensured the Islanders would stay on Long Island, but gave Pickett a significant revenue stream which he used to sign the final pieces for a team that would go on to win four consecutive Stanley Cups in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. Pickett attempted to sell Dolan a 36 percent share in the Islanders in 1981, but the sale was blocked by a lawsuit from four minority owners who accused Pickett of undervaluing the team and trying to sell their shares without their consent. Believing the lawsuit to be a distraction from the team's performance on the ice, Pickett called off the deal.

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