Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner has died at age 97, according to Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post.
According to Svrluga, Lerner died at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. on Sunday of complications from pneumonia.
Lerner ceded control of the club to his son, Mark, in June 2018 and was able to see his club win the World Series the following year in 2019.
The Lerner ownership group purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in July 2006, overseeing the construction of the club's permanent home, Nationals Park, which opened in Southeast D.C. in March 2008.
Lerner was a self-made billionaire who made his family's fortune in commercial and retail real estate. But perhaps his crowning achievement came when delivering the District's first World Series title in nearly a century.
The Nats issued the following statement announcing his death:
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Founding Managing Principal Owner, Theodore N. Lerner. The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved — and with it, bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924. He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown."