Leon Hess | |
|---|---|
 Hessc. 1980s | |
| Born | (1914-03-14)March 14, 1914 Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | May 7, 1999(1999-05-07) (aged 85) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Founder of theHess Corporation Owner of theNew York Jets |
| Spouse | Norma Wilentz |
| Children | Marlene Hess Zirin Constance H. Williams John B. Hess |
Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) was an American businessman, the founder of theHess Corporation and the owner of theNew York Jets. Hess built an oil terminal in New Jersey after the Great Depression, building his first refinery in the late 1950s. He sold his company,Hess Oil and Chemical, in 1963 and joined a consortium to buy the New York Jets. Hess was responsible for moving the Jets toGiants Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1984.
In 1969, Hess acquiredAmerada Petroleum Corporation, one of the largest producers of crude oil in the United States. The acquisition saw Amerada merging with Hess Oil and Chemical to form the Amerada Hess Corporation. Hess was chairman and CEO until 1995. He died at the age of 85 on May 7, 1999. Hess was posthumously inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Hess was born on March 14, 1914,[1] to aJewish family[2] inAsbury Park, New Jersey. His parents were Ethel and Mores Hess, who was akosher butcher who had emigrated fromLithuania[1] and—after arriving in the United States—worked as an oil delivery man in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[1][3] Hess worked as a driver for his father's company and, after it went bankrupt in 1933 during theGreat Depression, he reorganized the company.[1] He built an oil terminal inPerth Amboy, New Jersey, out of old oil tankers and aggressively underbid his competitors to win Federal oil contracts.[1] He served inWorld War II, rising to the rank of major, and serving as the fuel supply officer for GeneralGeorge S. Patton, where he further developed his logistical expertise.[1]
After the war, using a network of smaller terminals, Hess's success continued. In the late 1950s, he built his first refinery; and in 1960, he opened a chain of gas stations.[1] In the early 1960s, he built the world's largest oil refinery at the time on St. Croix in theUnited States Virgin Islands to take advantage of federal tax benefits. The refinery was able to secure foreign refiner status (allowing it to circumvent the federal rule that required the use of higher-cost U.S.-flagged vessels when shipping oil to the East Coast) while also receiving subsidies from theUnited States Department of Energy as a domestic refinery.[1] In 1963, his company, Hess Oil and Chemical, went public.[1] In 1969, using the proceeds from the Hess sale, he acquired theAmerada Petroleum Corporation, one of the largest producers of crude oil in the United States. As part of the purchase, he merged it with his former company, Hess Oil and Chemical, to form the Amerada Hess Corporation. Hess was chairman andCEO of Amerada Hess until 1995.
In 1963, Hess was part of a consortium that bought theNew York Jets which includedSonny Werblin,Philip H. Iselin, Townsend B. Martin, andDonald C. Lillis.[4] His initial investment was $250,000.[1] He bought out his partners: Werblin in 1968,[5] the heirs of Iselin in 1977, Martin in 1981[6] and on February 9, 1984, he became the sole owner of the club after purchasing the last quarter-share from Helen Dillon, Lillis' daughter.[4] The Jets played inShea Stadium in 1964 after four seasons in thePolo Grounds that saw them share it with theNew York Mets, who retained the money from any hot dog sold at Jets games to go along with parking revenue. Growing dissatisfaction with the stadium led to them moving the team to play atGiants Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey for the 1984 season (they had previously debated moving there six years prior).[7][8]
Sports agentLeigh Steinberg once recounted a story about meeting Hess, who related about the "important people I know", showing him a card of theAyatollah Khomeini.[9] Famously reticent about talking to the press, Hess attended just three press conferences as an owner who often shunned publicity to the point where he whispered to journalists to not put it in the paper that he was attending a practice session.[10] Hess made sure thatDennis Byrd, who suffered a broken neck with partial paralysis on the field, received the final two years of his contract of over $1 million. When the Jets arrived at the airport after the loss in the 1999 AFC Championship Game, Hess was there to greet and thank them. Prior to dying, Hess gave assistant coach/defensive coordinatorBill Belichick a $1 million bonus, which became a sticking point of contention when Belichick was briefly promoted to head coach in 2000.[11][10]
From his first year as a majority owner in 1968 until the year he died in 1999, the Jets were 212-270-2 with eight playoff appearances.[12][13][14]
In 1947, he married Norma Wilentz.[1][15] Wilentz's father was formerAttorney General of New JerseyDavid T. Wilentz who prosecuted Bruno Richard Hauptmann in theLindbergh baby kidnapping case.[1] They had three children: Marlene Hess Zirin,Constance H. Williams, andJohn B. Hess.[1] Marlene is married to lawyer, writer, and cable TV talk show host,James D. Zirin.[16]
In April 1999, he broke his hip and was admitted toLenox Hill Hospital.[17] While still at the hospital, he died on May 7, 1999, from a "blood disease".[3][18]
In the will of Hess, he stated that the team would be sold and that his executors would hire Goldman, Sachs & Co to manage the Jets' sale, stating, "It is my intent that my interests in the Jets be disposed of unaffected by any desire of family members to participate in the club's future ownership."[19]
In 2011, Hess was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame.[20][21] In 2014, the New York Jets selected Hess, along with formerwide receiverWayne Chrebet, to be the year's inductees into itsRing of Honor.[22]
The Leon Hess Business School[23] atMonmouth University,Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School[24] inSaint Lucia, and the Leon and Norma Hess Center for Science and Medicine of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City[25][26] were named for him.
Peacefully on May 7, 1999 of complications from a blood disorder. Beloved husband of Norma; cherished father of Constance and Dr. Sankey Williams, Marlene Hess Zirin, andJames Zirin, John and Susan Hess; adored grandfather of Elizabeth and Jennifer Williams, Peter and Margaret Friedland, Michael, David and William Hess; dear brother of Betty Gilbert, dear brother-in-law of Ruth Hess, Warren and Rhoda Wilentz and the late Robert and Jacqueline Wilentz, treasured son of the late Ethel and Mores Hess and son-inlaw of the late Lena and David T. Wilentz.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
