Simon family and legacy with Pacers celebrated at Hall of Fame Enshrinement
Herb Simon has owned the Indiana Pacers since 1983. He was one of 13 individuals enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame Sunday in Springfield, Mass. He's most proud of how it united his family.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Herb Simon had to wait another two months for the day to finally come, but he didn’t mind.
He was grateful, but it did complicate a very special weekend on the road with his family out east.
Simon, the owner of the Pacers since 1983 when he purchased it with his late brother Mel, was honored this past weekend as part of the 13-member class of 2024 for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Because of the Paris Olympic Games, it was decided to push their annual enshrinement back to mid-October.
Unfortunately, it fell right during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. However, what that ultimately meant was his entire family was together for this holy day on Saturday, one day before the enshrinement ceremony.
Not even a rainy day could ruin the occasion.
He was grateful to receive this honor for his 41 years of stewardship for one of the current 30 NBA franchises.
He was grateful for what it meant for Indy seeing another one of us get into the Hall of Fame.
And he was grateful as much for what ownership has done for his family as what it has also done for the city — his adopted home after growing up in Brooklyn.
FieldhouseFiles.com was the only Indy media outlet there to cover Simon’s Hall of Fame enshrinement. Here’s my behind-the-scenes account.
About 45 minutes before the start, there were nearly 50 people in the lobby of the downtown Marriott. It was raining outside so walking to the formal event wasn’t an option. Part of the Simon family was eventually taken by golf carts a few blocks south to Symphony Hall, home of the special event.
So much for a red carpet too. The fall weather put a damper on that, but not the celebration inside.
The entire Simon family had made it out for the weekend — first to Uncasville, Connecticut for the tip-off celebration and awards gala on Saturday. Then, the primary event was on Sunday evening.
His wife (Bui), eight kids. And his brother’s kids.
“The fact that we're all together and we can celebrate Herb and he's so deserving to be here,” Steve Simon told me before finding his seat for the ceremony. “It's just special, it's emotional and it's great to see everyone. He's special.”
Each member of the Hall of Fame class was able to design the inside of their special orange jacket and Simon’s featured several different Pacers and Fever logos. Then inside the right side, were the names of his eight kids: Jennifer, Stephen, Sarah, Rachel, Asher, Jacklyn, Sean, Sophie.
Simon received his Hall of Fame jacket and ring Saturday night inside the Mohegan Sun Convention Center, then they all celebrated together. It was also Sean’s 21st birthday.
Having everyone together is what Simon enjoyed most about this occasion.
“… The great thing about this business is that it has been different than anything else I've ever done, because it involves the family,” he said. “Teams like ours are important to the city and the state, and important to the fans. But on a real personal level, this to me, this is the most important thing, is they bring my entire family together in a way that is just different from anything else I've done and any other business I've been in.
“From my wife to my youngest child to my oldest child to my grandchildren, we all cheer the team together. We celebrate when they win, and while we're not happy when they lose, we are always together. They have been able to participate in this journey, and that makes it a very special thing.”
Over the last decade, some of his kids have gotten more involved with the franchises. Steve is alternate governor and the unofficial spokesman. He’s on social media and will often call into the Pacers postgame radio show.
Herb, however, is soft-spoken. He prefers to be in the background and not do interviews. He was one of two members of this class to not to participate in the press conferences on Saturday because it overlapped with Yom Kippur.