James P. Clark

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James P. Clark (April 11, 1899 – April 17, 1962) was an American political boss, sportsman, and businessman who was a leader of the Democratic Party in Philadelphia and owner of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League.

Early life[edit]

Clark was born in Pittsburgh on April 11, 1899.[1] He moved to Philadelphia at the age of five.[2] As a youth, Clark worked for the American Bridge Company. In 1915, he joined the Electric Theatre Supplies Company. He then worked for the Kline Porter Company.[2]

Trucking[edit]

Clark eventually chose to start his own business, Clark Delivery Service, which specialized in the transportation of film reels and related products. In 1934, he merged his company with the Horlacher Delivery Service.[1] He renamed the company Highway Express Lines and by 1950 had a fleet of over 400 trucks.[3][4] By 1965, the company was one of the largest general cargo firms in the Mid-Atlantic. It operated more than 500 tractor trailers and had ten terminals and seven way stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia.[5]

Politics[edit]

In 1941, Clark was elected chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic city committee. He succeeded a political ally, John B. Kelly, who had been appointed national physical fitness director.[6] Clark helped shore up the financially strapped party with his own money.[7] Soon after becoming chairman, Clark backed the "Big Truck" bill, a bipartisan piece of legislation favorable to the trucking industry also supported by Republican Joseph N. Pew Jr. that was ultimately defeated.[7]

Democratic leaders wanted a candidate from Eastern Pennsylvania to be the party nominee in the 1944 United States Senate election. The heads of the county committees chose to allow Clark to select the party's preferred candidate.[8] He selected U.S. representative Francis J. Myers, who went on to defeated Republican incumbent James J. Davis. In that same election, Philadelphia Democrats won all six of the city's seats in the United States House of Representatives and returned a strong delegation to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The city also gave President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a 130,000 vote majority, which helped him carry the state of Pennsylvania. The success of Clark's candidates in the 1944 election led Robert Taylor of the The Pittsburgh Press to put him on par with the two major Democratic leaders in the state; U.S. Senator Joseph F. Guffey and state party chairman David L. Lawrence.[7]

Clark stepped down as party chairman in 1946 due to business pressures, but remained influential in Democratic party politics.[9][10] In 1950, Clark offered to donate $25,000 to charity if Republican James H. Duff debated his opponent in that year's United States Senate election, Francis J. Myers. The debate never occurred and Duff defeated Myers.[2] In 1952, Clark, a supporter of Estes Kefauver, led an unsuccessful attempt to remove city committee chairman James A. Finnegan, who backed Adlai Stevenson.[11]

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Clark was an ally of U.S. Representative and Philadelphia Democratic chairman William J. Green Jr. and served as finance chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Committee. The two were credited with helping John F. Kennedy win the state in the 1960 presidential election.[12]

In 1961, Clark fought against a bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would ease restrictions on the size of trailers allowed on highways.[13]

Sports[edit]

In 1949, Clark led a group of 100 Philadelphia businessmen who purchased the Philadelphia Eagles from Alexis Thompson for $250,000.[14][15] Clark served as the team president from 1949 to 1953, but gave up the position due to business pressure. He was succeeded by Frank L. McNamee, but remained with the organization as vice president. In 1958, he was elected to the newly created position of chairman.[16] The Eagles won the NFL Championships twice under the ownership of Clark's syndicate (1949 and 1960). In 1950, Clark's syndicate attempted to purchase the Philadelphia Athletics from Connie Mack, but was unsuccessful.[17][18]

In 1961, the Pennsylvania harness racing commission voted 2–1 to grant Clark's Liberty Bell Racing Association the state's first parimutuel track license, with both Democratic members of the committee voting in favor of Clark and the Republican member voting against.[19] Clark died before the track was completed, but his niece's husband, Michael J. O'Neill, saw the construction of the $12.5 million track through and Liberty Bell Park Racetrack opened on June 7, 1963.[20]

Death[edit]

In 1959, Clark suffered a heart attack at his apartment in Center City.[21] On April 17, 1962, Clark died of a stroke at his home in Philadelphia.[12] Clark left his estate, which included Highway Express Lines and his shares in the Philadelphia Eagles and the Liberty Bell Racing Association, to his wife, Margaret, and niece, Marie O'Neill, whom he raised from the age of nine. His will stipulated that if Highway Express Lines was sold, his employees would have the first opportunity to purchase it.[22][23] The estate was valued at $4 million.[24]

In 1963, Clark's syndicate, known as the "Happy Hundred", sold the Eagles to Jerry Wolman for $5,505,000.[25] Two years later, Highway Express Lines was purchased by E. William Uttal.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Collins, Herman Leroy (1941). Philadelphia, a Story of Progress. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 438.
  2. ^ a b c "Philly Leader James Clark Dies". The Pittsburgh Press. April 17, 1962. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  3. ^ D & B Reports. Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. 1986. p. 41.
  4. ^ "Connie Mack Says He'd Sell A's". St. Joseph News-Press. June 9, 1950. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Line Purchased". Reading Eagle. January 19, 1965. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Trucking Company Official Named Philadelphia Democratic Party Chief". The Washington Reporter. August 8, 1941. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Taylor, Robert (November 12, 1944). "Meet James P. Clark - Democrats' State Victory Sparked by Philadelphian". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Duff to Tell Of Decision". Reading Eagle. January 31, 1944. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Democratic Chairman In Philadelphia Resigns". The Pittsburgh Press. January 6, 1946. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Mayor Lawrence Boosted For Governor in 1953". The Pittsburgh Press. August 12, 1952. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  11. ^ Lindgren, L. R. (November 6, 1952). "State Gets New 'Mr. Democrat'". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  12. ^ a b "James Clark, 62 Of Philadelphia Dies of Stroke". Meriden Record. April 18, 1962. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Fight Open On Size Of Trailers". The Washington Observer. June 7, 1961. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Phillie Eagles of NFL Sold for Quarter Million". Herald-Journal. January 17, 1949. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Philly Grid Franchise Comes Home". The Deseret News. January 15, 1949. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Eagles Name Clark". Middlesboro Daily News. March 6, 1953. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Philadelphia Athletics Sought By Syndicate". Star-News. June 9, 1950. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Mack Will Sell A's for Right Offer". Schenectady Gazette. June 10, 1950. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Lawrence Backs Racing Commission". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 7, 1961. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  20. ^ Bernstein, Ralph (June 7, 1963). "Legal Track Betting Opens This Evening". Gettysburg Times. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Phila. Political Leader Is Stricken". Reading Eagle. June 17, 1959. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Clark's Widow, Niece Inherit Interests". Reading Eagle. April 25, 1962. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Widow, Niece Are Principals In Clark Will". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 25, 1962. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Clark Estate Is Valued At $4,000,000". Reading Eagle. September 14, 1963. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  25. ^ Didinger, Ray; Robert S. Lyons (2005). The Eagles Encyclopedia. Temple University Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 1-59213-449-1.
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