(KRON) -- The San Jose Earthquakes announced that founder Milan Mandarić died Saturday at 87 years old. He passed away at a Serbian hospital after a short illness, according to his family.

The Quakes said they will honor Mandarić by wearing black armbands during Sunday's road game in Canada against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Mandarić brought the team to San Jose in 1974, making it the city's first professional sports franchise, the Earthquakes said in a news release. He would go on to sell the team three years later but then "eventually bought them back due to his passion to grow the game in Northern California, before selling them again one last time."

The San Jose Earthquakes released the following statement:

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our founder and longtime owner Milan

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