John Reed Kilpatrick was an American athlete, soldier, and sports executive. He served in the United States Army during World War I and World War II. He was associated with the construction industry for the period 1923-1933 and was president of the Madison Square Garden Corporation from 1933 to 1955.
Background
John Reed Kilpatrick was born on June 15, 1889 in New York City, New York, United States, the son of Frank James Kilpatrick, a wealthy realtor, and Manie Patterson. His father was a founder of the New York Athletic Club, a trotting horse driver of renown, and the winner in 1879 of the All-Round Championship of America, a test of athletic versatility similar to the decathlon. When Kilpatrick was one year old, the family moved to Bridgeport, Alabama, where his father headed a syndicate that sought to transform Bridgeport into an industrial center. The effort was abandoned as a failure after nine years and the family returned to New York City.
Education
Kilpatrick completed his primary education in New York City. His father had planned to send Kilpatrick to Harvard, but he preferred Yale because it had the best football team in the country. Learning that many Yale football players had prepped at Phillips Andover Academy, he persuaded his father to enroll him there in the fall of 1903. At Andover, Kilpatrick played varsity football, won the heavyweight boxing championship in his senior year, and was a track-and-field star, excelling at sprints, broad and high jumps, low and high hurdles, the hammer throw, and the shot put. Later he claimed that he and classmate Upton Favorite had invented the spiral forward pass in 1906--a claim not generally accepted by football historians. Kilpatrick entered Yale in 1907, and if he did not invent the overarm forward pass, he certainly made it famous. Playing left end, he was named to the All-America team in 1909 and in 1910. Many consider him the best left end ever to play the game. Kilpatrick received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911 and, although not an outstanding scholar, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa--in 1911 Yale broadened its Phi Beta Kappa admissions requirements to include any senior who received straight A's, and on a lark he decided to make Phi Beta Kappa much as one would make an athletic team.
Career
At the beginning of his career Kilpatrick turned down a number of college football coaching jobs and finally joined the New York City construction firm of Thompson-Starrett as a supervisor. In 1912 Kilpatrick became a member of the elite Squadron A of the New York National Guard, a cavalry unit that attracted sons of the socially prominent families in the city. He had attained the rank of sergeant when his unit was federalized in June 1916, during the Mexican border campaign, and was sent to the southernmost corner of Texas. The unit saw no action. Shortly after his return to New York, the United States entered World War I. Anxious to reach Europe, Kilpatrick transferred to the Quartermaster Corps in the belief that it had a higher shipping priority than the cavalry and would enable him to get to the war zone more quickly. He was promptly promoted to major but was assigned to Washington, D. C. He reached France in January 1918, and as headquarters regulating officer he supervised rail transport of men and supplies to the front lines. By the end of the year he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and was chief regulating officer for the Allied Expeditionary Force. In April 1919 he became a full colonel.
Upon returning to America, Kilpatrick spent four years with the International Coal Products Corporation in an unsuccessful effort to distill liquid fuel from bituminous coal. In 1923 he joined the construction firm of George A. Fuller as a vice-president. He stayed with the company for ten years, supervising such major construction projects as the New York County Courthouse and the New York Times Building. In 1927 he was elected to the board of directors of Madison Square Garden.
The Great Depression had a devastating impact on Madison Square Garden, a corporation specializing in the promotion of sports events. By the early 1930's it was deeply in debt, and the board of directors named a three-man committee consisting of Kilpatrick; Dewees Dilworth, a broker; and William M. Greve, president of New York Investors, to study the administration of the corporation and recommend a replacement for its president, William F. Carey. Kilpatrick, named Carey's successor, assumed office on July 1, 1933. John S. Hammond, who had been the general manager of Madison Square Garden under the legendary "Tex" Rickard (Carey's predecessor), wanted the presidency for himself. By May 1934 he had purchased enough stock to force his election as chairman of the board of directors, and he expected Kilpatrick to resign as president. But other board members, among them Greve, Walter P. Chrysler, and Bernard F. Gimbel, threatened to leave if Kilpatrick resigned. This forced an agreement that Kilpatrick and Hammond would run Madison Square Garden together--an agreement that soon collapsed, leading to a bruising proxy fight. Hammond's bid for control was turned back, and thereafter Kilpatrick's control was never challenged.
Except for the period 1942-1945, when, as a brigadier general, he commanded the port of embarkation at Hampton Roads, Virginia, Kilpatrick served as president of Madison Square Garden until 1955, when he became chairman of the board of directors. In his later years Kilpatrick devoted much time to civic and political causes. In 1956 he was national chairman of Citizens for Eisenhower and Nixon.
Achievements
As president of Madison Square Garden, Kilpatrick restored prosperity by adding such events as rodeos, horse shows, concerts, track meets, and the Harvest Moon Ball to the traditional athletic fare of boxing, basketball, and hockey. He was also credited for his help in establishing the National Hockey League Pension Society.
In 1955 he was elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Football Foundation. Posthumously, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and in 1968, he received the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. For his military service he received the Distinguished Service Medal.
Membership
Kilpatrick served as chairman of the New York City Committee of the American Cancer Society from 1951 to 1960.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"No one ever left behind him a more glittering reputation. " -Damon Runyon
Connections
Kilpatrick married on October 25, 1919, Stephanie d'Hengster Raymond. They had one daughter.
