"He was a great guy to work for," recalled Thorn, who was hired as a Nets assistant in 1973. "A terrific guy. Upbeat, positive. We had a great situation."

Boe, born in Brooklyn in 1929, but a Fairfield, Conn., resident, bought the ABA Nets from trucking magnate Arthur Brown in 1969. The Nets acquired Erving in 1973, won the ABA title in 1974 and then captured the league's final championship in 1976.

The league mergers were next as the Nets joined the Spurs, Nuggets and Pacers entering the NBA. But after paying a $3.2 million entry fee, the Nets also were hit with a $4.8 million bill owed the Knicks for moving into their territory. Cash-strapped, Boe sold Erving to the Sixers for $3 million. Boe had similar payments to the NHL and Rangers as Islanders owner.

"It is a shame," said Thorn. "But Roy had to do it to get into the NBA. It wasn't a trade. We got money and no players. If we could have gone in with the team we had, Dr. J and Larry Kenon, we could have done as well as the Spurs or Pacers or Nuggets. But he had to sell him to get in the league."

The Nets immediately fell on hard times. They went from ABA best to NBA worst. And to posterity, Boe became the man who sold Dr. J.

"I was closely associated with Roy when I was an assistant coach with the Nets ," Thorn said. "He was a competitor, and provided us with the resources we needed to win. Roy was always very nice to me, and was a man who I was privileged to call my friend."

Boe, who also owned a minor-league football team and AHL franchises in Bridgeport and Worcester, Mass., is survived by his wife, Betty, five children, a sister, six grandchildren and his former wife. A memorial service is planned for Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fairfield. The family asks memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.