Joe Robbie Founding

Lore & Background

Robbie was raised in Sisseton, South Dakota, the second of five children. At 14 years old, he was the sportswriter for his local newspaper, The People's Press. In 1934, during the Great Depression, Robbie dropped out of high school to work as a lumberjack for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Black Hills, sending $25 of his $30 monthly earnings home to his family. After completing his high school education in 1936, Robbie enrolled at Northern State Teachers College on a debating scholarship.

He later transferred to the University of South Dakota, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth. The couple married two years later. Robbie enlisted in the Navy on the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, saw substantial action in the Pacific theater, and was awarded a Bronze Star. After his discharge, he used the G.I. Bill to study law at the University of South Dakota School of Law.

Following law school, he worked as a deputy state's attorney and a professor of economics at Dakota Wesleyan University. In 1948, he was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives as a Democrat. In 1950, he ran for Governor of South Dakota but lost. The following year, he moved to Minneapolis at the encouragement of then-mayor Hubert H. Humphrey.

In Minnesota, he operated his own law firm, served as regional counsel for the Office of Price Stabilization, and was a charter member of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Commission and chairman of the Minnesota Municipal Commission. He represented Minnesota's 5th congressional district at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Robbie also worked as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry from the 1960s until his death, and from 1971 until 1989, he was head of the Minnesota Candy & Tobacco Distributors Association.

He was a member of the Non-Group, a politically influential group of Miami-Dade business elites. After moving to Minneapolis, he became a season ticket holder for the Minnesota Vikings. In March 1965, he met with AFL Commissioner Joe Foss, who recommended Miami as a potential site for an expansion franchise. Robbie formed a partnership with comedian Danny Thomas and raised the $7.5 million required to purchase an expansion team.

The Dolphins' stadium was officially called Joe Robbie Stadium from its opening in 1987 until 1996. Robbie briefly appeared as himself in the 1977 thriller Black Sunday.

Reader's Guide

The earlier claim that he dropped out at 14 is not supported by the source.

Did You Know?

• Robbie dropped out of high school in 1934 at age 18 to work as a lumberjack for the Civilian Conservation Corps, not at age 14.
• He sent $25 of his $30 monthly CCC earnings home to his family.
• Robbie was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in the Pacific theater during World War II.
• Joe Robbie Stadium was one of the first major U.S. sports venues designed with soccer in mind.