F. Wayne Valley

File:F. Wayne Valley 1961.jpg

Valley in 1961

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. 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.

He was one of the original owners (along with Chet Soda and six other investors) of the Oakland Raiders football team, and a founding member of the American Football League. Valley took control of the franchise in 1960 and was 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. 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.

Valley died in 1986; his wife continued to operate 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 approximately $1billion 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.

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 more than 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

• Other American Football League players, owners, and officials