Jess McMahon
| Jess McMahon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Roderick James McMahon May 26, 1882[1] Manhattan, New York, New York United States |
| Died |
November 22, 1954 (aged 72) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Professional boxing and wrestling promoter |
| Known for | Founder, Capitol Wrestling Corporation |
| Spouse(s) | Rose Davis (his death) |
| Children | 3; including Vince McMahon Sr. |
| Parent(s) |
Roderick McMahon Elizabeth McMahon |
| Family | McMahon |
Roderick James "Jess" McMahon, Sr. (May 26, 1882 – November 22, 1954) was an American professional wrestling and professional boxing promoter, and the patriarch of the McMahon family. He founded the Capitol Wrestling Corporation with Toots Mondt in 1952. McMahon's son, Vincent James McMahon, later took over and founded the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (today known as WWE).
Early life
Roderick James McMahon was born May 26, 1882, to hotel owners Roderick McMahon (1844-1922) and Elizabeth McMahon (1846-1936) from County Galway.[2] His parents had recently moved from Ireland to New York City.[1] He and his siblings Lauretta (born 1876), Catharine (born 1878) and Edward (born 1880) attended Manhattan College. Roderick graduated with a commercial diploma at the age of 17. The McMahon brothers showed a higher interest in sports than in a banking career.[1]
Career
By 1909, the McMahon brothers were managing partners of the Olympic Athletic Club and bookers at the Empire and St. Nichols Athletic Clubs, located in Harlem. Because of a loss of public interest in boxing, the two McMahons expanded their affairs in 1911, founding the New York Lincoln Giants, a black baseball team, which played at Olympic Field in Harlem. With a team that included five of the best black players in the nation (who the McMahons recruited away from teams in Chicago and Philadelphia), the Lincoln Giants dominated black and white opponents for three seasons. In 1914, financial difficulties forced them to sell the team; however, they retained the contracts of many of the players, and for three more years they operated another team, the Lincoln Stars, using Lenox Oval on 145th Street as a home field.[3] Touring with the squad, McMahon and his brother ventured to Havana, Cuba, in 1915, where they co-promoted the 45-round fight between Jess Willard and then-champion Jack Johnson.[1]
In the 1930s, the McMahons operated the Commonwealth Casino, on East 135th Street in Harlem. Boxing was the primary attraction. The McMahons booked black fighters to cater to Harlem's growing black population; fights between blacks and whites drew the largest, racially mixed crowds. In 1922, they established a black professional basketball team, the Commonwealth Big 5, to try to attract patrons to the casino. For two years, the team defeated black and white opponents, including Harlem's other black professional team, the Rens. Sportswriters considered the Big 5 the best black team in the nation, although they could not defeat the dominant white team of the time, the Original Celtics. Despite their success, the Big 5 did not attract large crowds, and the McMahons shut the team down after the 1923/1924 season, leaving the Rens to become the dominant black team of the 1920s and 1930s.[4]
After 1915, Jess anchored in Long Island, where he became the first McMahon to promote professional wrestling, at the Freeport Municipal Stadium.[5] The wrestling wars led McMahon to ally himself with another independent faction, captained by Carlos Louis Henriquez. Together they booked the Coney Island and Brooklyn Sport Stadiums, with Carlos being the main fan favorite.[6] The formation of "the Trust" calmed New York territory enough to allow McMahon access to a larger pool of wrestlers. Among those wrestlers were Jim Browning, Hans Kampfer, Mike Romano and Everette Marshall.[1] By 1937, wrestling's popularity was waning. However, while most bookers left the city for fresher ground, Jess dug in for the long haul. His contacts allowed him to freely trade wrestlers with promoters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut.[1]
A perpetual force in the Northeastern sportsworld, McMahon may be more remembered for his spell as matchmaker at the Garden than for his 20 years as a wrestling promoter. On November 22, 1954, as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage, Jess died at a hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[1] Upon Jess's death, his second son, Vincent J. McMahon took over the business, eventually creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion, known today as WWE.
Personal life
McMahon married a young New York City woman named Rose E. Davis (1891–1997) who was of Irish descent, and together they had three children, Vincent J. McMahon, Roderick Jr., and a daughter named Dorothy.[1] His grandson, Vincent K. McMahon, is currently the Chairman and CEO of WWE. Jess's great-granddaughter Stephanie McMahon also works for the company. His great-grandson Shane McMahon also worked for the company before ending his 20-year stint in 2010, but he returned as an on-screen character in 2016. His great-great-grandson, Declan James McMahon was seen at the opening of WrestleMania XX.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Stor of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-741-6.
- ↑ "The fighting Irish and the WWE". Irish Examiner. September 20, 2013.
- ↑ Stephen Robertson, "Harlem and Baseball in the 1920s", Digital Harlem Blog, July 27, 2011, accessed August 23, 2011
- ↑ Stephen Robertson, "Basketball in 1920s Harlem", Digital Harlem Blog, June 3, 2011, accessed August 23, 2011
- ↑ "POINTER CAPTURES BEST IN SHOW PRIZE; Nancolleth Markable Gains Additional Honors at the Brookline Exhibition". The New York Times. June 5, 1932. pp. S8. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
- ↑ "Gracia in Shape to Defend Middleweight Honors Tomorrow". The New York Times. May 22, 1940. Retrieved 2012-08-31.