F. Wayne Valley

F. Wayne Valley (1914–1986) was an American businessman, philanthropist and football player. He attended Oregon State University in the 1930s, where he was a starting linebacker and fullback on the Oregon State Beavers football team, though he would ultimately graduate with a business degree from the University of Oregon due to OSU cutting his program of study.[1][2] He would later go on to a successful career in the homebuilding industry, starting his first building business in the late 1940s. His businesses were based in the East Bay city of San Leandro, California where he lived. He and his wife Gladys, son Michael W. Valley and daughter Tamara A. Valley later moved to Piedmont, California in the late 1960s.

Francis Wayne Valley
Valley circa 1961
Personal information
Born:(1914-03-28)March 28, 1914
Died:October 2, 1986(1986-10-02) (aged 72)
Career information
College:
Career history
As executive:
  • Oakland Raiders (1961–1971)
    Principal owner & general manager

Valley was one of the original owners (along with Chet Soda, Donald Blessing and five other investors) of the Oakland Raiders football team, and a founding member of the American Football League. He took control of the franchise in 1960 and served as the managing general partner of the team with Ed McGah until forced out of this role by Al Davis in 1972. Valley subsequently sold his stake in 1976. [3] Along with his wife, Gladys L. Valley, they left the majority of their net worth to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, based in Oakland, California.[4]

Valley died in 1986 and his wife continued operating the Foundation until her death in 1998. Gladys is survived by her two children Michael W. and Tamara A.Valley. Tamara chairs the foundation and on September 15, 2003 the board of directors unanimously decided to wind down the foundation and distribute about $1 billion USD in assets by 2018. The foundation is a key donor to OSU, both academically and athletically; Valley Library, Valley Gymnastics Center and Valley Football Center at OSU are all named in their honor. [5]

In 2005, California State University, East Bay in Hayward, California launched an aggressive construction project with the building of three new facilities: the Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center (VBT), the Pioneer Heights student housing expansion and the University Union annex. The 67,000-square-foot (6,200 m2) Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center was dedicated on February 28, 2007, making it the first new academic building on the Hayward Campus in over 30 years. The building offers a state-of-the-art home for programs in business, technology management, engineering, multimedia, science and online degree programs.

See also

References
  1. Rachel Bachman (2007-09-20). "Cutting their losses". The Oregonian.
  2. George P. Edmonston Jr. and Chuck Boice. "Up Close and Personal: The Valleys". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  3. Glenn Dickey (1991). Just Win, Baby: Al Davis and his Raiders. Harcourt. pp. 98–101. ISBN 0-15-146580-0.
  4. "Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation: Background". Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  5. "The Wayne and Gladys Valley Chair in Marine Biology". Oregon State University. Retrieved June 23, 2018.


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