[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5747-S5748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO SEYMOUR H. KNOX III, 1926-96

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Seymour 
H. Knox III, a civic and business leader from Buffalo, NY. Seymour 
Knox, age 70, died on May 22, 1996, at his home in East Aurora, New 
York, after a long battle with cancer.
  Like his father before him, Seymour Knox created a lasting 
institution for the city of Buffalo by which he shall be remembered. 
For the father, this was the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. For the son, it 
was the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. Seymour, in cooperation with his 
brother Northrup, led an investor group that acquired a National Hockey 
League Franchise in 1969. For over a quarter century, the Sabres have 
made the long winter a bit more enjoyable for the people of Buffalo, 
and with the recent completion of the Marine Midland Arena, Seymour 
Knox has assured that this alliance will long continue.
  Apart from his interest in hockey, Seymour Knox was a leading 
investment executive at Kidder Peabody and Co., and active in the 
community. He was chairman of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the body 
which oversees the gallery created by his father, and was also named 
chairman of the Smithsonian Associates in 1984. He was also active in 
the Buffalo YMCA, the U.S. Squash Racquets Association, and the Seymour 
H. Knox Foundation. He will long be remembered as someone who cared 
deeply about the city of Buffalo and who used his standing in the 
community to improve the lives of countless citizens.
  Seymour Knox will be fondly remembered by his wife, Jean; his 
brother, Northrup: his three sons, Seymour IV, W.A. Read, and Avery F.; 
his daughter, Helen K. Keilholtz; and five grandchildren. We offer our 
condolences and prayers to his family.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of an article from the Buffalo 
News be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Buffalo News, May 23, 1996]

      Seymour Knox III Leaves Legacy to the Community He Cared For

       Seymour H. Knox III was born to wealth, and he put it to 
     good use for his community. Like his father before him, Knox 
     left Buffalo an institution that will forever bear his mark. 
     In his father's case, it was a nationally known art gallery. 
     In his case, it is a nationally famous sports team. Buffalo 
     is richer for both of them.
       To say it simply, Buffalo needs more people like Seymour H. 
     Knox III. His death Wednesday, from cancer, came a few days 
     after the public got its first look at the Marine Midland 
     Arena, which Knox worked arduously to bring into being. It 
     will be the new home of the Buffalo Sabres major-league 
     hockey team, his hard-won creation and his enduring 
     contribution to his home town.
       More than one friend and more than one fan will express 
     regrets that Knox did not live to see the day when his team 
     would skate onto the ice of the new arena. But at least he 
     knew it would happen.

[[Page S5748]]

       Through the efforts of Knox and his brother, Northrup, the 
     Buffalo franchise in the National Hockey League was secured 
     in 1969. From the beginning to this death, Seymour Knox III 
     was chairman of the partnership that owned the team. Most of 
     the time he was also president of the team.
       Titles aside, the hockey-loving public knew Knox simply as 
     the one who got the team for Buffalo and served as its head 
     man through the years. He was the guy in the gold seats a few 
     rows above the Sabres' bench.
       Knox also kept the team here. In an age when professional 
     owners change cities at an alarming rate, Knox was loyal to 
     Buffalo even though its comparatively small market might have 
     made other pastures seem greener. The point of the new arena 
     is to make the team financially strong, securing it for 
     Buffalo for the foreseeable future. Knox's vision made the 
     Marine Midland Arena possible. His legacy will be the 
     exciting hockey games of the future--games that will help 
     make Buffalo a better place to spend the winter.
       Knox was also important to Buffalo for numerous other civic 
     endeavors. Those included the chairmanship of the Buffalo 
     Fine Acts Academy, governing body of the Albright-Knox Art 
     Gallery, which, to a great degree, was his father's gift to 
     Buffalo. The gallery's most distinguishing feature is its 
     modern art collection put together with care by the late 
     Seymour H. Knox Jr.
       His son's contribution is less genteel, but a community 
     needs many aspects to its life. It is richer for both of 
     these gifts.
       From the start, the hockey team has played at Memorial 
     Auditorium, Buffalo's aged indoor sports place, now slipping 
     into retirement.
       At the last Sabres game in the Aud a bit more than a month 
     ago, Knox was given a prolonged ovation by a capacity crowd. 
     Fans know why the Sabres exist. They let it show. Knox gave a 
     short speech, closing with the words: ``Farewell, old 
     friend.''
       Buffalo people can repeat those words today.

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