Jess McMahon

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Roderick James "Jess" McMahon, Sr. (May 26,

1882 November 22, 1954) was an American Jess McMahon
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).

Contents
Born Roderick James McMahon
1 Early life
May 26, 1882[1]
2 Career
Manhattan, New York, New York
3 Personal life
United States
4 References
Died November 22, 1954 (aged 72)
5 External links
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Nationality American

Early life Occupation Professional boxing and wrestling

promoter
Roderick James McMahon was born May 26, 1882, to Known for Founder, Capitol Wrestling
hotel owners Roderick McMahon (1844-1922) and Corporation
Elizabeth McMahon (1846-1936) from County
Spouse(s) Rose Davis (his death)
Galway.[2] His parents had recently moved from
Children 3; including Vince McMahon Sr.
Ireland to New York City.[1] He and his siblings
Lauretta (born 1876), Catharine (born 1878) and Parent(s) Roderick McMahon
Edward (born 1880) attended Manhattan College. Elizabeth McMahon
Roderick graduated with a commercial diploma at the Family McMahon
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 (18911997) 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 in 2016.
His great-great-grandson, Declan James McMahon was seen at the opening of WrestleMania XX.
References
1. Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled
Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-741-6.
2. "The fighting Irish and the WWE". Irish Examiner. September 20, 2013.
3. Stephen Robertson, "Harlem and Baseball in the 1920s"
(http://digitalharlemblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/baseball-1920s-harlem/), Digital Harlem Blog, July 27,
2011, accessed August 23, 2011
4. Stephen Robertson, "Basketball in 1920s Harlem"
(http://digitalharlemblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/basketball-in-1920s-harlem/), Digital Harlem Blog,
June 3, 2011, accessed August 23, 2011
5. "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.
6. "Gracia in Shape to Defend Middleweight Honors Tomorrow". The New York Times. May 22, 1940.
Retrieved 2012-08-31.

External links
New York Pro Wrestling (http://www.nyprowrestling.com/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jess_McMahon&oldid=766954728"

Categories: 1882 births 1954 deaths 19th-century American people American boxing promoters
Professional wrestling promoters American people of Irish descent Manhattan College alumni
Sportspeople from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Professional wrestling executives
Sportspeople from Manhattan WWE

This page was last modified on 23 February 2017, at 03:22.

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