TORONTO -- The winter took a somber turn for the Blue Jays on Tuesday, with news coming that Ted Rogers, the founder of Rogers Communications Inc. and team owner, passed away overnight at his home in Toronto. He was 75.

Rogers suffered from congestive heart failure that saw his health weaken over recent years. The board of directors for Rogers Communications will form a special committee to lead a search for a new chief executive officer. For the time being, Alan Horn, the chairman of the company, will continue to serve as the acting CEO.

"Ted Rogers was one of a kind who built this company from one FM radio station into Canada's largest wireless, cable and media company," Horn said in a release from Rogers Communications. "A leader also in giving to the community through his and [his wife] Loretta's many philanthropic initiatives. He will be sadly missed."