Al Lerner won a bidding war for the new team for $750 million.
He was President of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and donated over $100 million to the hospital system.
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He was also a past president of the Board of Trustees of the famed Cleveland Clinic as well as a major benefactor.
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Cleveland native and fellow marine Drew Carey paid tribute to Lerner at the end of a season 8 episode of The Drew Carey Show called "The Dawn Patrol".
By the 1980s, WDOK had come under common ownership with WWWE; both stations were sold on November 30, 1987 by Lake Erie Radio Company, owned by Art Modell and Al Lerner, to the Independent Group Limited partnership, owned by Tom Embrescia, Larry Pollock, and Tom Wilson.
Alan Jay Lerner | Randy Lerner | Michael Lerner | Gad Lerner | Sammy Lerner | Murray Lerner | Sandra Lerner | Michael Lerner (rabbi) | Michael Lerner (actor) | Melvin J. Lerner | Lerner Publishing Group | Daniel Lerner | Al Lerner | Ted Lerner | Richard Lerner | Motti Lerner | Joseph Lerner | Eric Lerner | David Lerner | Dan Lerner | Ben Lerner | Adam Lerner | Abba P. Lerner |