Therese “Terry” Seidler, the mother of two San Diego Padres chairmen and a woman who at times in her life owned shares of two Major League Baseball teams, died on Thursday.
Seidler was a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers for nearly two decades before selling the club in 1998; she owned a small share of the Padres at the time of her death.
In a statement, the family said: “Terry Seidler, the matriarch of the Seidler family, passed away on December 18 at the age of 92. Terry’s father Walter and brother Peter led the O’Malley family stewardship of the Brooklyn / L.A. Dodgers from 1950-1998. Terry became part owner of the San Diego Padres when her son Peter led the effort to purchase the Padres in 2012. She became an avid Padres fan and attended games regularly at Petco Park, cheering on the Padres in her brown & gold.”
Terry Seidler holding John Seidler; Capt. Emil Praeger, engineer who helped O’Malley design and plan Dodger Stadium; Walter O’Malley holding grandson Peter Seidler; and Kay O’Malley.
Terry Seidler inherited half of the Dodgers along with her brother in 1979. The family sold the team in 1998.
Peter Seidler was the Padres chairman from November 2020 until his death in November 2023. His brother, John, became chairman in March. The family announced in November that it is exploring a sale of the team.
Terry Seidler, who taught Sunday school well into her 80s, was preceded in death by her husband, Rollie, who died in 2006. She is survived by nine of her 10 children, all of her 32 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.