Pat Croce

Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner, author, and TV personality.

Croce began his career as a physical therapist and was a trainer for the Philadelphia Flyers for more than 10 years. He founded Sports Physical Therapists in 1984 and grew the business into a chain of 40 centers spanning 11 states before selling it in 1993 for $40 million.

He became president of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team in 1996 as part of a group led by Flyers founder Ed Snider and Comcast Corporation that bought the team. Under their ownership, the Sixers went from last place in 1996 to the NBA Finals in 2001. He appeared on the cover of "Success" magazine as the first trainer to rise to an ownership position with a professional sports team. He has also been featured in "Inc." and "Sales & Marketing Management".

Since leaving the 76ers, Croce has appeared as a television commentator on "The NBA on NBC" and was a Tae Kwon Do commentator for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. In 2004, he hosted his own syndicated self-help television show, "", which premiered on September 13, 2004 and was canceled in 2005.

In January 2005, he opened the $10 million Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Florida. The museum features authentic pirate artifacts, many from Croce's personal collection. In February 2006, he opened the pirate-themed Rum Barrel restaurant next to the museum.

Croce has written four self-help books, three of which topped the "New York Times" best-seller list. He has also recently partnered with billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump to build a slot machine parlor on the former Budd Corporation site in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia, adjacent to that of the Tastykake production facility.

Croce was one of the four judges for the second season of ABC's reality television series, "American Inventor", which ran from June to August, 2007.

Croce has started a new venture in 2008 with Skinny Nutitional Corp. He is involved in the marketing of this new company and their first product Skinny Water. Croce is also, beginning in 2008, the commissioner of SlamBall

Books

*I Feel Great and You Will Too!
*Lead or Get Off the Pot!
*110%
*Victory Journal
*Do It Now Journal
*Pirate Soul – A Swashbuckling Journey Through the Golden Age of Pirates
*My Pop-Pop is a Pirate