William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz (October 5, 1952 – July 25, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the principal owner and chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. He was also president of the Blackhawks' parent company, the Wirtz Corporation, a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Chicago. Under Wirtz's leadership, the Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015, reversing a period of declining fan interest and on-ice performance. He oversaw Wirtz Corporation's commercial and residential real estate companies, wine and spirits distributor Breakthru Beverage Group, an insurance company, and banks in Illinois and Florida. Wirtz was also half-owner of the Blackhawks' home arena, the United Center, along with Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He and Reinsdorf were co-chairmen of the arena's Executive Committee.
Education
Wirtz graduated from North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois in 1971. In 1975, he graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Communications.
Breakthru Beverage Group
Wirtz's grandfather Arthur Wirtz bought the family's first liquor distributorship in 1945. Wirtz grew up in the liquor business and assumed control of Wirtz Beverage Group in 2007. In recognition of his many contributions to and leadership in the beverage industry, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America honored Wirtz with a Lifetime Leadership Award in 2014. In 2014, Wirtz Beverage expanded outside the U.S. announcing it was taking over as the exclusive Canadian distributor for Diageo beer, wine and spirits brands. The company was the first nationally established beverage alcohol broker in Canada.
In 2015, Wirtz merged the $2.5 billion alcohol-distribution business with Charmer Sunbelt Group to create Breakthru Beverage Group. Today, Breakthru is one of North America's leading distributors of wine, spirits and beer brands with more than $6 billion in annual revenue and operations throughout the U.S. and Canada. At the time of his death, Wirtz served as co-chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group. His son Danny Wirtz plays a large role in the Breakthru's executive leadership as Vice Chairman, also serving on the company's Board of Directors and Operating Committee.
Ownership of the Blackhawks
Wirtz inherited the Blackhawks upon the death of his father, Bill Wirtz, in 2007, becoming only the fifth principal owner in the franchise's 81-year history. His grandfather, Arthur Wirtz, bought a stake in the Blackhawks in 1950, acquiring outright ownership in 1966 and selling a stake to Bill, who inherited full ownership upon Arthur's death in 1983. Wirtz's younger brother, Peter, initially inherited the team following Bill's death in 2007. Peter previously served as at Blackhawks vice president. He intended to uphold many of his father's long-standing policies. However, Peter was uninterested in owning the Blackhawks, and instead allowed Wirtz to assume control of the team.
The Blackhawks franchise faced both financial challenges and on-ice struggles. Over the decade preceding Wirtz's leadership, the team incurred losses approaching $191 million and managed to qualify for the playoffs only once during that span. This period saw ESPN dubbing the Blackhawks as the worst franchise in professional sports. Wirtz recalls a dire financial predicament where the team found itself unable to cover its own payroll obligations prior to the 2007–08 NHL season. He was forced to borrow money from other companies within the Wirtz Corporation to keep the franchise afloat. Almost immediately after becoming the new owner, Wirtz altered many of his father's policies, which many fans saw as anachronistic. According to a source within the Hawks organization, Wirtz "believes in spending money to make money," in marked contrast to his father's frugal management style.
Wirtz stated in an interview that he would keep Dale Tallon as Blackhawks general manager and Denis Savard as head coach. He also affirmed at the time that Bob Pulford would remain as the team's senior vice president, but later reassigned him to Blackhawks liaison on NHL affairs. (Savard would be fired as head coach just four games into the 2008–09 season and replaced by Joel Quenneville.)