on august 16, 1986, he was appointed postmaster general of the united states postal service, serving until march 1, 1988. in 1991, tisch bought a half-stake in the new york giants from wellington mara's nephew tim, who had inherited the share from his father and wellington's brother jack upon his death and who was suffering from hodgkin's lymphoma, which would eventually claim his life. tisch held the share until he died on november 15, 2005 from brain cancer; tisch's death followed mara's death by three weeks. his share of the giants passed to his son steve, who co-owns the team with mara's son john.