Robert Kraft's professional success tinged with personal heartache - Ingles

Reporting from Foxborough, Mass. In so many ways, the last year has been the most successful for Robert Kraft as owner of the New England Patriots.

He had a vitally important role in getting the 10-year labor agreement with the players and was one of the principals in negotiating the latest record-setting round of TV deals, and now his Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the fifth time since 2001.

Kraft is also living with a heartbreaking void he will never fill. He lost his wife, Myra, to ovarian cancer in July at age 68. They were married 48 years, have four sons; a life chronicled in the hundreds of family pictures decorating the walls and every inch of desk and counter space in Robert's office at Gillette Stadium.

He sat at his desk last week and tried to put words to the two divergent directions his life has taken, the satisfaction of achieving such lofty goals but the overwhelming sadness of doing so alone, without the woman who was with him for every step for half a century.

"This team has carried me through ... " Kraft said at a whisper, wiping his eyes.

"I mean, look, she was 19, I was 20. We're on our first date and she proposed, and we were together ever since. I thought she was going to outlive me 30 years. Everything except for this bloody ovarian cancer. … So life is a gift and you've got to cherish the ones you love."

In a world where high-powered sports owners are more often resented and despised, the people in New England and around the NFL cherished the Krafts, and recognized Myra's dedication to philanthropy in particular. Forbes magazine estimated the Krafts were worth about $1.3 billion in 2007 and, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the couple had given away more than $100 million in the four years preceding that.

Myra had given up her plans to attend law school to raise her sons.

"She was petite, but you shouldn't be fooled how strong she was," Kraft said. "She read four books a week. Thank God for the Kindle and the iPad, because when we'd go overseas or traveling we always had a heavy bag loaded up with books."

In 1995, Myra became the first woman to chair the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, a position she held until 2002. She later served as chair of the board of directors of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, and was involved with dozens of other charities.

All season, the Patriots have worn an "MHK" uniform patch over their hearts — for Myra Hiatt Kraft — and in a poignant moment in their locker room after a game, they presented Robert with an oil painting of players clenching their raised hands together in a huddle, under Myra's initials.

During the victory over Baltimore in the AFC championship game, Patriots running backBenJarvus Green-Ellis pointed to the patch on his chest after a big play. Later, when presented the conference champion trophy, Kraft touched his hand to his lips, touched the MHK pin on his lapel, then raised his hand to the sky.

Kraft said he made that gesture because he couldn't have kept his composure on the podium.

"I was worried getting that trophy …" he said, his voice sounding thick again.

As an owner, Kraft has established Hall of Fame credentials. He is the only owner to build a stadium with all private money and without selling personal-seat licenses, and he has overseen the redefining of the Patriots as a crown-jewel franchise.

In the 18 years he has owned the franchise, the Patriots have the best record in the league at 212-104, including postseason (.671), with only Pittsburgh at 201-113-1 (.640) and Green Bay at 200-114 (.637) passing the 200-victory milestone over that span.

Not only did Kraft keep the team in the Boston area — something that was never guaranteed — but also his team represents a cornerstone market among AFC teams, whereas the NFC has teams in seven of the top nine media markets: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington and Atlanta.

Steve Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, called Kraft a mentor and even a father figure since the death of his father, Robert Tisch, in 2005.

"Bob is the strongest, most passionate and caring of the owners in the NFL," Tisch said of Kraft. "His commitment to the league is 100%. ... His guidance and friendship over the years has been incredibly valuable to me, and the relationship is an important and strong one."

During the contentious negotiations with the players for a new collective bargaining agreement, Kraft's attention was divided. His wife's health was failing, and he essentially turned their Boston-area home into a hospital so that she would be as comfortable as possible. Even though the labor talks were almost always out of town, he seldom spent the night away from home, instead flying to the meetings in the morning and home that evening, always getting the blessing of his wife before he left her.

"It was just excruciating," said Dean Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, who was also involved in the negotiations. "It was very difficult to watch. Your heart went out to him. It was agonizing.

"You have to have a tremendous amount of respect for what he was going through, and for what he accomplished for the league."

At the news conference when the new CBA was announced, five days after Myra had died, Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday wrapped his arm around Kraft and somberly thanked him for helping "save football."

The pain was evident in Kraft's eyes then, just as it is now. He said he has drawn strength from simply being around his players and coaches.

"The team has been my savior," he said. "I've had my kids, my four sons and eight grandchildren and this team has been kind of my extended family."

At least one fellow owner believes the way the Patriots have rallied around Kraft will make them that much more difficult for the Giants to beat Sunday.

"I know how much Robert means to that team and how much his family means to that team," said Jed York, owner of the San Francisco 49ers. "I don't think there's any way the Patriots lose.

"I know how my family reacted when my grandfather [Edward DeBartolo Sr.] passed away in 1994 before our last Super Bowl win. There's no way they were going to lose the Super Bowl that year, no matter who they played. They were going to do whatever they had to do to win. And I think we're going to see that from the Patriots this year."

Regardless of what happens on the field, however, Kraft is dealing with a loss he cannot replace, a pain he cannot salve.

"I believe in spirituality," he said. "I believe we have an angel smiling down."

This article was written by Sam Farmer and appeared in the Los Angeles Times.