The New Orleans community lost one of its pillars on Thursday, as Tom Benson, the owner of the NFL's Saints and NBA's Pelicans, died at age 90.
While Benson, a native of the Big Easy, didn't have time to achieve a ton in basketball, he controlled the Saints for more than three decades and oversaw many of the franchise's best moments. Here's a look at the five best:
1985 - Keeps franchise in NOLA
Through the first 19 years of the Saints' existence, the team had yet to make a playoff appearance or even have a winning season. The ownership group was made up of several stakeholders, with the controlling interest in the hands of a young Houston businessman. And with some fans wearing bags on their heads and referring to the team as the "Aints," the franchise was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in moving it to Jacksonville, Fla.
However, after building financial success for himself through Chevrolet dealerships and his own banking business, Benson swooped in to purchase the Saints and keep them in his hometown. He then hired Jim Finks as his general manager and Jim Mora Jr. as his head coach, which began to turn things around.
1987 - 1st playoff appearance
It took Benson very little time to achieve what Saints fans had been hoping for since the club's inception. In his second year as owner, the Saints posted their first-ever winning record at a remarkable 12-3 and earned their first postseason berth, even getting a home playoff game.
The team also finished the regular season on a nine-game winning streak thanks to its top-rated offense, and when the Saints clinched their playoff spot in Week 13, their owner introduced the world to the "Benson Boogie."
While the team lost its postseason debut, Mora enjoyed continued regular-season success, finishing with an 8-8 record or better in each of the next six seasons, and making three more playoff appearances during his tenure. However, that success tailed off through the '90s before a golden duo arrived to save the day.
2006 - Bringing in the big guns
With only one playoff win through his first 20 years of owning the team, Benson recognized that major steps were needed to get the Saints into the NFL's spotlight. And when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, he felt a responsibility to put the team in a position to lead the city he called home out of the darkness.
Alongside general manager Mickey Loomis, Benson hunted down top head-coaching candidate Sean Payton and highly coveted free-agent quarterback Drew Brees. Both men were inspired by the state of the city, and shared Benson's desire to bring NOLA back from the dead.
Since Brees and Payton arrived in New Orleans, they've both cemented their status as legends of the Big Easy and future Hall of Famers. The duo has led the Saints to more success over the last 12 years than the franchise could have imagined though its first 39 seasons.
2006 - Return to the Superdome
Hurricane Katrina forced the Saints to spend the 2005 season playing out of San Antonio, Texas, where they went just 3-13 as Benson reportedly considered leaving New Orleans for good due to the Superdome's damage.
However, the owner resisted the urge to run from the fight, finally returning the team to the Superdome against the rival Atlanta Falcons on a Monday night in Week 3.
Described by some as the loudest a sports stadium has ever been, the return home is famously remembered for a punt block in the first quarter by the Saints' Steve Gleason, which was later immortalized as a statue (pictured above). New Orleans won 23-3, and went on to claim its division with a 10-6 record that season, but the Week 3 return was about more than wins and losses for the community.
"I don't think the city would have returned without the Saints," Benson told Larry Holder of NOLA.com in 2016. "That was a tough decision because we were getting a lot of pressure from other ways. That was some bad times, but we lived through it. We worked through it too."
2010 - Saints win Super Bowl XLIV
The Brees and Payton Show continued to dominate NFL defenses after its first season of success, but the team missed the playoffs in 2007 and '08 before restocking with some key pieces to make a run at something bigger.
After improving the defense, the Saints saw immediate results as they started the 2009 season on a 13-0 run, earning a bye in the opening round of the playoffs and home-field advantage.
New Orleans then got a clutch interception from Tracy Porter in the dying minutes of the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
The title game was full of more dramatics - including a surprise onside kick out of halftime, a high-scoring second half, and another clutch Porter pick - as the Saints won their first championship, 31-17.
Considering the state of the franchise when Benson first took over, it would have been hard to imagine the Saints lifting the Lombardi Trophy. And when Katrina hit, the chances of a championship in New Orleans seemed even more unlikely. That's why the team's incredible journey from the "Aints" to the top of the football world created a legacy that will make it impossible to forget the man behind it, Mr. Tom Benson.
(Photos credit: Getty Images)
