Pat Croce, Philly 76ers President & Owner, on Allen Iverson, Management & Passion, Deep Dives for Shipwrecks, Pirates, Houdini and more

Pat Croce, according to Success Magazine, made history as the only pro sports team owner to go from the training room to the boardroom. After selling his company, Sports Physical Therapists, for $40 million, Croce helped buy the last-place NBA Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. His first draft pick: Allen Iverson. He led the 76ers to their Championship game against the LA Lakers in 2001.  Pat openly talks with Jake about the legend that is Allen Iverson and the tricky management of the franchise between Iverson and Coach Larry Brown. He says if that Iverson liked to practice more, he'd still be in the NBA today.  Bold and unapologetically honest, Pat opens up about why his relationship with Larry Brown was never the same, his obsession with pirates and how piracy and exploration in the 1500s set the pace for entrepreneurship in this century, why his relationship of 42 years with wife Diane still works and the cultural similarities between Iverson and Harry Houdini (Pat owns half the world's Houdini artifacts and collection).  This is a an audio portrait of a kid that came from the streets of Philadelphia, dreamed big, learned how to negotiate early on and recognized (thanks to Zig Zigler) that enthusiasm and positivity could be the rule, not the exception.  At the top of the show, Jake & Cait talk about how Jake met Pat and Cait’s half marathon in Philadelphia.  The Jake Sasseville Show was produced this week by Jake Sasseville, Gregory Stuhtzer and Vivienne Kelly out of New York City. Associate producer Kodi Seaton and Caitlin Engel. Consulting producer James McCrae. (c) 2014 JAKE INC All Rights Reserved