Larry H. Miller

Lawrence Horne Miller
born Lawrence Horne West

• High School West High School (Salt Lake City)

• Born April 26, 1944 in Salt Lake City, UT USA
• Died February 20, 2009 in Salt Lake City, UT USA

Biographical information

Larry H. Miller was a prominent businessman based from Salt Lake City, UT who was the principal owner of the Utah Jazz of the NBA and of the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League.

Born Lawrence West, he took his current name following his mother's remarriage after a divorce when he was 2 years old. He began working in the auto parts business after high school, eventually moved to an automobile dealership, and made his fortune operating a large number of such dealerships all over the western United States, after buying his first one in 1979. The Larry H. Miller Automotive Group was eventually sold for a total of $3.2 billion in 2021. He later diversified into other businesses, including a television station, restaurants, movie theaters and the like.

In 1985, he purchased the Utah Jazz for $8 million when they were in danger of moving to Miami, FL. At the time, the team was operating in the smallest market in the league and had never turned a profit since moving from New Orleans, LA, so it was quite a gamble, but the team eventually became very successful.

In 1994, he helped Joe Buzas move the Portland Beavers of the PCL to Salt Lake City, where they became the Salt Lake Buzz. Following Buzas's passing in 2003, he bought the team from his estate in 2005 and changed its name to its current one. He passed away in 2009 at age 64, following a massive heart attack and complications linked to diabetes. His relatives, led by his widow Gail, took over the family corporation, and while it divested many of its assets over the years, including selling the Jazz in 2020, it has retained ownership in the Bees. Miller had been very active in the building of Smith's Ballpark back in 1994, and the family corporation privately financed the building of its successor, Daybreak Field, which opened in 2025 and is located in the suburb of South Jordan, UT.

Miller was a sports enthusiast who was a drag racer and a competitive fast-pitch softball player in his youth. He moved to Colorado for a few years in the 1960s and 1970s in order to be able to play softball at a high level, something that was not possible in his hometown.