Carling Bassett’s Father Dies After Long Cancer Fight

John F. Bassett, who had owned football teams in the United States and Canada, died today after a long battle with cancer. He was 47.

Bassett, father of teen-age tennis star Carling Bassett, was a former Davis Cup player.

The oldest son of flamboyant Canadian media magnate John W. Bassett, he recently sold his interest in the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. Bassett previously owned interests in the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and Memphis Southmen of the World Football League.

Called “Johnny F.” to distinguish him from his father, chairman of Baton Broadcasting Inc. which controls the CTV network, Bassett carved out several niches of his own as an athlete, newspaperman, sports wheeler-dealer, businessman and movie mogul.