Fred Shabel, retired vice chairman of Comcast Spectacor, former college administrator and basketball coach, and fervent Philadelphia booster, has died at 90
A colleague said: “Fred Shabel’s incredible life and career are a testament to the type of person he was: generous, brilliant, and always thinking of others."
Fred Shabel, 90, of Philadelphia, longtime vice chairman at Comcast Spectacor, former athletic director and vice president for operational services at the University of Pennsylvania, men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut, and popular civic leader, died Sunday, Feb. 26, of complications from congestive heart failure at his home in Clearwater, Fla.
Although Mr. Shabel was born in Brooklyn, graduated from Duke University in North Carolina, and coached four seasons at Connecticut, he is regarded by everyone who knew him as a true-blue Philadelphian. He spent 40 years as an executive at Spectacor and Comcast Spectacor, 13 years as an administrator at Penn, and practically every day after he arrived in 1967 as the city’s No. 1 booster.
“His legacy serves as a model for what it means to be a committed civic leader in the city of Philadelphia,” said Dan Hilferty, chief executive officer at Comcast Spectacor.
Indeed, it’s hard to name a civic cause or organization in Philadelphia with which Mr. Shabel did not interact. He lobbied state legislators to improve marketing and tourism laws, supported local athletic, civic, charitable, and community groups, and served on boards at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Sports Congress, and countless others.
He was especially active as a director of Visit Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and wrote in a 2003 editorial for the Daily News: “We have a great [Convention] Center and a great city, a marvelous place to visit. … But we need the Convention Center to be vibrant to complete the picture and realize our potential as a visitor destination.”
Mr. Shabel won many awards for his activism, including the Anti-Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty Award. In 2007, he was honored for his support and fund-raising, and became the first male to win the Champion Award from the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
“I believe that his greatest joy came from contributing to the advancement of the people, organizations, and places that he touched,” said Scott Tharp, president of Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education.
Mr. Shabel became vice chairman at Spectacor, a sports and entertainment company, in 1980 and retired in 2020. He was involved with personnel, oversaw many activities connected to the Flyers hockey team and other assets, and represented the company to corporate partners, and civic and charitable collaborators.
“Fred Shabel’s impact on the Flyers organization, the city of Philadelphia, and his many friends and loved ones is impossible to fully describe,” said Dave Scott, chairman at Comcast Spectacor.
Recruited from Connecticut to be athletic director at Penn in 1967, he also served as executive director of the Penn Relays and oversaw the ascension of Penn’s women’s sports to varsity status. He was promoted to vice president for operational services in 1975 and supervised campus planning, construction, security, and other services.
As head men’s basketball coach at Connecticut from 1963 to 1967, Mr. Shabel compiled a 72-29 record and qualified for the national postseason tournament three times. He was named New England coach of the year in 1964, and several of his former players recently lobbied for his induction into the school’s athletic hall of fame.
He was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. “He will be remembered as an extraordinary coach, mentor, and business leader,” said Brian Roberts, Comcast chairman and chief executive officer. “He was a gift to our city.”
Frederick Allen Shabel was born in Brooklyn on March 20, 1932. He moved to Union City, N.J., as a boy and was an Eagle Scout and all-state basketball player at Union Hill High School.
He earned a basketball scholarship to Duke, received a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1954, and served two years in the Air Force. He returned to Duke in 1957 as an assistant men’s basketball coach and left in 1963 to take over the team at Connecticut.
He married Betty Jane Huskey, and they had daughter Lisa and son Alan, and lived in Wayne. After a divorce, he married Irene McMenamin in 1994, and they lived in Center City.
Mr. Shabel liked to laugh, sing at piano bars, play tennis, and linger over dinner with friends and family. He championed women’s rights, was a tireless mentor to countless people, and reveled in the success of others.
“Fred made a friend every time he left the house,” his family said. “He was generous, kind, and supportive of anyone who needed his advice or just wanted some tickets to the big game or show.”
His wife said: “He never forgot where he came from. He never raised his voice, and he tried to make every occasion a special occasion for everyone.”
In addition to his wife, children, and former wife, Mr. Shabel is survived by two grandchildren and other relatives. Two sisters and two brothers died earlier.
A private celebration of his life is to be held later.
Donations in his name may be made to Legacy Youth Tennis and Education, 4842 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19129, and Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, 100 W. Oxford St., Suite E-2000, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.