Ed Snider was born to a Jewish family in the Washington, D.C. region, the son of a grocery-store chain owner. He attended the University of Maryland and earned his bachelor’s degree. He later became a partner in Edge Ltd., a record company. After selling the company, Snider joined Jerry Wolman (builder) and his brother-in-law Earl Foreman (attorney) to buy the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964. He was given a 7 percent stake in the team, and served as vice president and treasurer. Upon learning that the NHL was planning to expand, Snider made plans for a new arena—the Spectrum—to house both a hockey team and the 76ers. On February 8, 1966, the NHL awarded Philadelphia a conditional franchise, one which would eventually be named the Philadelphia Flyers and start playing in 1967. Snider assumed control of the Spectrum in 1971, taking over as chairman of the board. In 1974 Snider created Spectacor as a holding company for the Flyers and the Spectrum. The Flyers became the first NHL expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974, and to repeat as champions in 1975. Spectacor would found or acquire several businesses under his direction, most notably a regional premium cable channel, PRISM, and the first all-sports radio station, WIP. Seeing that a new arena would keep the Flyers competitive with the rest of the league, Snider began planning for what would become the CoreStates Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in 1988.

Prior to the Wells Fargo Center’s opening in 1996, Ed Snider sold a 66% stake in Spectacor to Philadelphia-based Comcast, creating Comcast Spectacor. However, Snider remained chairman of the venture, retaining a 34% interest. Soon after, Comcast Spectacor along with the Philadelphia Phillies created Comcast SportsNet in 1996. The company also bought the 76ers, who had been Snider’s tenants since 1971. Comcast Spectacor also won an expansion franchise in the AHL, the Phantoms. In a 1999 Philadelphia Daily News poll, Snider was selected as the city’s greatest sports mover and shaker, beating out legends such as Connie Mack, Sonny Hill, Bert Bell, and Roger Penske. In 2005, Ed Snider became a prominent investor in a Foxwoods slots casino proposed for the waterfront in Philadelphia. In September 2008, facing massive opposition at the originally intended site, backers for the slots casino decided to seek a new location in the Center City area, next to Philadelphia’s Chinatown community. In 2014, Ed Snider was treated for bladder cancer. Although he announced in September 2014 that he was “cancer free”, the cancer subsequently returned. Snider died on April 11, 2016 at his home in Montecito, California. The Flyers will wear a patch in his memory on the right shoulder, a black circle with “EMS” in white, for the Stanley Cup Playoffs; whether or not the team will wear them for the following season remains unknown at this time.