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John McMullen (engineer)

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For other people with the same name, see John McMullen (disambiguation).

John J. McMullen, Ph.D (May 10, 1918 – September 16, 2005) was an American naval architect, businessman, and marine engineer, and former owner of the New Jersey Devils and Houston Astros. He founded the engineering firm John J. McMullen & Associates, and was the owner of Norton Lilly International[1] a shipping agent now based out of Mobile, Alabama, from 1972 until 2002.[2]

Personal life

McMullen was born in 1918 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, where he attended Montclair High School, graduating in 1936.[3] He later graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1940 and rose to the rank of commander during a 15-year naval career. The Naval Academy honored his naval and ice hockey backgrounds by naming their hockey team's rink after him. He received a master's degree in naval architecture and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich.[4] He married Jacqueline Everhart and had three children. He died at his Montclair, New Jersey home in September 2005.[5]

Sports teams ownership

He bought the Colorado Rockies and in 1982 moved the team to East Rutherford, New Jersey renaming them the New Jersey Devils. He instituted the Dr. John J. McMullen Award in 1984, presented annually to "an individual or individuals who have supported amateur hockey throughout the state".[5] The team won two Stanley Cups during his ownership, in 1995 and 2000. Just before winning the second Cup, McMullen sold the team to YankeeNets. After his death, the team dedicated the 2005–06 season to him, wearing a small "JM" patch on their jerseys.[6]

Prior to purchasing the Astros, McMullen had been one of George Steinbrenner's limited partners in owning the Yankees. He later said, "Nothing is so limited as being one of George's limited partners."[7]

McMullen also owned the Houston Astros, buying the team from Ford Motor Credit Company in July of 1979 as part of a partnership that saw McMullen have the majority of shares at 33% as managing partner that was done for an estimated total of $19 million.[8] His tenure was characterized by high and low moments. Under McMullen's ownership, the Astros signed Alvin, Texas native Nolan Ryan to baseball's first $1 million free agent contract and reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1980. [9][10]

McMullen fired Tal Smith, architect of the first Astro playoff team, days after the season ended reportedly due to McMullen resenting the attention Smith received. Even replacing Smith did not stop McMullen from bitter comments, as he was quoted as calling Smith "a despicable human being" in 1983 after saying the roster on the field was better than the one when he bought the team (at the time he made the comments, the Astros were in last).[11][12][13] After the 1988 season, McMullen elected to not pay more to retain Ryan, who left for the Texas Rangers in free agency and won his 300th game and 5,000th strikeout with them.[14] He also complained that the team needed more support in the city, refusing to deny claims of moving the team to Washington even during the 1986 season.[15]

McMullen had a close friendship with Yogi Berra. When Berra was fired as manager of the New York Yankees in 1985, McMullen offered him a job coaching the Astros, which Berra accepted.

McMullen started the process of wanting to sell the team in 1990, expressing a desire to do in part due to age and the rising value of the team. On July 24, 1992, it was announced that McMullen had come to an agreement with Drayton McLane to sell the team, which also included the lease on the Astrodome for a total of $117 million; approval by the league owners followed in the fall.[16][17][18] It was during this season that the Astros were to play 26 consecutive road games from July 27 through August 23, due to the 1992 Republican National Convention being held at the Astrodome from August 17–20 (since the RNC required a couple of weeks to prepare the staging), as agreed on by McMullen without getting approval from the Players Association. McMullen stated his regret at his decision, stating that he wished he had told the RNC "to go to hell". [19][20] The 1992 season saw the Astros average roughly over 14,000 per game in attendance, while the 1993 season saw an average of 25,000.[21]

Under his 14-year tenure as owner, the Astros had eight winning seasons that saw three postseason appearances.

Commemoration

John J. McMullen is commemorated in the U.S. Naval Academy's McMullen Hockey Arena, the Academy's biennial McMullen Naval History Symposium, and the McMullen Seapower Fellowship and Keynote McMullen Seapower Lecture that are associated with the naval history symposium.

McMullen was awarded the Naval Academy's Distinguished Graduate Award in 2000.[22]

The New Jersey Devils honored McMullen by making him the first inductee into the team's Ring of Honor in 2017 with the installation of a permanent banner at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.[23]

References

  1. ^ Nash, Margo (September 17, 2000). "Child's Love of Ships Becomes Man's Passion for Marine Artwork". New York Times. Secaucus. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  2. ^ "John J. McMullen Dies at 87; Ex-Owner of Devils and Astros". New York Times. Montclair. September 18, 2005. p. 34. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  3. ^ History of The New Jersey Devils. 2007. p. 68.
  4. ^ "John J. McMullen, at 87; ex-owner of Astros, Devils". Boston Globe. 2005-09-18. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  5. ^ a b "Dr. John J. McMullen (1918-2005)". New Jersey Devils. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  6. ^ "New Jersey Devils - In Memoriam of". New Jersey Devils. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  7. ^ Sandomir, Richard (July 15, 2010). "Praise for Steinbrenner From Limited Partners". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Houston Astros history – 1979 season
  9. ^ Houston Astros history – 1993 season
  10. ^ https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-09-18-0509180007-story.html
  11. ^ https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1980/10/28/Before-Houston-Astros-owner-John-McMullen-fired-his-general/5068341557200/
  12. ^ https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1980/10/31/Angry-businessmen-told-Houston-Astros-owner-John-McMullen-in/9378341816400/
  13. ^ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/589/642/1870107/
  14. ^ https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Baseball-Notebook-Give-McMullen-more-credit-than-1931752.php
  15. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1986/07/16/mcmullen-keeps-astrodome-exit-open-but-just-a-crack/43fba296-7283-426d-8a45-ef54d3fe4711/
  16. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; Astros Find an Owner". The New York Times. 25 July 1992.
  17. ^ "McLane admits he nearly sold Astros after 2008 season". 15 December 2009.
  18. ^ https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/02/25/report-astros-owner-to-sell/%3foutputType=amp
  19. ^ https://www.khou.com/amp/article/sports/strange-but-true-1992-houston-astros-forced-out-republican-national-convention/285-e31217e1-a763-441c-8a1e-6e0dda314388
  20. ^ https://www.chron.com/texas-sports-nation/article/28-days-later-Remembering-Astros-legendary-1992-11814592.php
  21. ^ http://www.afootinthebox.com/peter/the-astros-26-game-road-trip-for-1992-gop-convention
  22. ^ "History of Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients". www.usna.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28.
  23. ^ "John McMullen Set To Become First Inductee Into Devils Ring Of Honor". 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
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