James D. Norris
Encyclopedia
James Dougan Norris was an American
sports businessman, with interests in boxing
, ice hockey
, and horse racing
. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of Bruce Norris
and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
.
Born in Chicago
, Norris served as a Lieutenant with the United States Navy
during World War II
. In business, he was a partner in the commodity
brokerage firm
, Norris and Kenly, and became involved in hockey by working for his father, who bought the Detroit Red Wings
in 1932. In 1946, James D. Norris was one of a group that purchased the Chicago Blackhawks along with Bill Tobin
(left Chicago Blackhawks in 1954) and Arthur M. Wirtz
Sr. However he remained a Vice President with the Detroit Red Wings until the summer of 1952. That summer He left to help Arthur M. Wirtz
Sr. run the Chicago Black Hawks. In 1957, James Norris along with his half brother Bruce Norris
and other NHL owners of the time, were accused of union-busting activities related to the attempt by Ted Lindsay
and a group of NHL players to form an NHL Players Association
. Mr. Norris's role in those affairs are dramatized in the movie, Net Worth
.
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup
in 1961, with Norris as chairman. Norris was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1962.
Norris's father passed along several of the family's businesses to him in the late 1940s, including a significant ownership position in Norris Grain Company and Madison Square Garden
.
Norris was president of the International Boxing Club of New York
from 1949 to 1958. The IBC dominated boxing in the U.S. in the 1950s, but was dissolved by the courts, which ruled it to be a monopoly. As president of the the IBC, Norris was involved with organized crime figures. Norris was responsible for fixing numerous bouts. Besides match fixing, he was also unofficially managing many boxers (usually against their will) and persuading them to hire his associates as advisors.
Among his investments, James Norris held interests in the Rock Island Railroad, the Chicago Furniture Mart, and Chicago's Bismarck Hotel. Norris also owned Thoroughbred
racehorses and Spring Hill Farm in Paris, Kentucky
. His horses raced at tracks in the United States and in Canada where his colt, Rocky Royale, won the 1960 Canadian International Stakes
. In 1938 his horse Danger Point, ridden by Eddie Arcaro
, won the Metropolitan Handicap
.
Like his father, Norris suffered from heart problems and had two heart attacks. He died in Chicago in 1966 at age 59, with a reported net worth of $250 million. Shortly before his death, Norris had arranged for an NHL franchise to be awarded to St. Louis, Missouri
, even though no one from St. Louis applied for a franchise. Norris owned the St. Louis Arena
.
1961 Stanley Cup (Chicago)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sports businessman, with interests in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, and horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of Bruce Norris
Bruce Norris
Bruce Arthur Norris was owner of the Detroit Red Wings from 1952 to 1982. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of James D. Norris. Members of the Norris family owned the Red Wings for almost fifty years before selling the franchise to Mike Ilitch in 1982. Bruce and Marguerite Norris...
and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
.
Born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Norris served as a Lieutenant with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In business, he was a partner in the commodity
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
brokerage firm
Brokerage firm
A brokerage firm, or simply brokerage or broker in context, is a financial institution that facilitates the buying and selling of financial derivatives between a buyer and a seller...
, Norris and Kenly, and became involved in hockey by working for his father, who bought the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
in 1932. In 1946, James D. Norris was one of a group that purchased the Chicago Blackhawks along with Bill Tobin
Bill Tobin
William F. Tobin was a first baseman in Major League Baseball in . He split the season between two teams, debuting in July with the Worcester Ruby Legs and ending the year with the Troy Trojans-Sources:...
(left Chicago Blackhawks in 1954) and Arthur M. Wirtz
Arthur Wirtz
Arthur Michael Wirtz was a powerful figure in sports and arena operation. He was the owner of Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls...
Sr. However he remained a Vice President with the Detroit Red Wings until the summer of 1952. That summer He left to help Arthur M. Wirtz
Arthur Wirtz
Arthur Michael Wirtz was a powerful figure in sports and arena operation. He was the owner of Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls...
Sr. run the Chicago Black Hawks. In 1957, James Norris along with his half brother Bruce Norris
Bruce Norris
Bruce Arthur Norris was owner of the Detroit Red Wings from 1952 to 1982. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of James D. Norris. Members of the Norris family owned the Red Wings for almost fifty years before selling the franchise to Mike Ilitch in 1982. Bruce and Marguerite Norris...
and other NHL owners of the time, were accused of union-busting activities related to the attempt by Ted Lindsay
Ted Lindsay
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...
and a group of NHL players to form an NHL Players Association
NHL Players Association
The National Hockey League Players' Association or NHLPA is the labor union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the thirty member clubs in the National Hockey League located in the United States and Canada...
. Mr. Norris's role in those affairs are dramatized in the movie, Net Worth
Net Worth (TV film)
Net Worth is a 1995 television film that starred Aidan Devine, Al Waxman, R.H. Thomson and Kevin Conway. It was directed by Jerry Ciccoritti from a script written by Don Truckey, Phil Savath, David Cruise and Allison Griffiths...
.
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in 1961, with Norris as chairman. Norris was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1962.
Norris's father passed along several of the family's businesses to him in the late 1940s, including a significant ownership position in Norris Grain Company and Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
Norris was president of the International Boxing Club of New York
International Boxing Club of New York
The International Boxing Club of New York was a corporation formed by James D. Norris and Arthur M. Wirtz in 1949 to promote boxing bouts at Madison Square Garden, Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, St...
from 1949 to 1958. The IBC dominated boxing in the U.S. in the 1950s, but was dissolved by the courts, which ruled it to be a monopoly. As president of the the IBC, Norris was involved with organized crime figures. Norris was responsible for fixing numerous bouts. Besides match fixing, he was also unofficially managing many boxers (usually against their will) and persuading them to hire his associates as advisors.
Among his investments, James Norris held interests in the Rock Island Railroad, the Chicago Furniture Mart, and Chicago's Bismarck Hotel. Norris also owned Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses and Spring Hill Farm in Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
. His horses raced at tracks in the United States and in Canada where his colt, Rocky Royale, won the 1960 Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
. In 1938 his horse Danger Point, ridden by Eddie Arcaro
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
, won the Metropolitan Handicap
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile," is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile .The Met Mile was first...
.
Like his father, Norris suffered from heart problems and had two heart attacks. He died in Chicago in 1966 at age 59, with a reported net worth of $250 million. Shortly before his death, Norris had arranged for an NHL franchise to be awarded to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, even though no one from St. Louis applied for a franchise. Norris owned the St. Louis Arena
St. Louis Arena
The St. Louis Arena was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri, that stood from 1929 to 1999...
.
Awards & achievements
1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952 Stanley Cup (Detroit)1961 Stanley Cup (Chicago)
External links
- Picture of Norris's name on the Stanley Cup
- James Norris' obituary in the February 26, 1966 St. Petersburg Times
- The Mob, Murder Inc. and Madison Square Garden: Boxing's Tale of Corruption
- Top 10 Worst Boxing Moments In History
- Jim Norris Is Part Of Boxing's Dirty Business
- A Bantam Confronts Norris
- Norris' Last Stand