Robert V. Welch

Robert Vincent Welch (May 26, 1927 – September 11, 1992) was an American businessman, politician, and civic leader from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Welch was a businessman and community leader in Indianapolis from the 1950s until his death in 1992. He was considered by many to be the key person in building consensus to bring a National Football League franchise to Indianapolis throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s and subsequently one of the main catalysts to build the Hoosier Dome in the early 1980s. As a businessman, he had great success in real estate and also by starting or buying and running many other companies - managing many of his investments through his main development company, RV Welch Investments. In the community, he was the runner-up in the general election for mayor of Indianapolis in 1975 and is credited as the primary force to save Cathedral High School from closure when the Brothers of Holy Cross decided to close the school in 1973 - remaining chairman of Cathedral's board from 1973 to 1987. He was recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as one of the "Top 50 Most Influential People of the Century" in Indianapolis.^[1] He died in a mid-air plane collision in 1992 while on a business trip for the state of Indiana. He was one of ten children and he and his wife, Carolyn, had three children.