 Mara and wifeAnn in 1954 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Owner/President/ General Manager |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1916-08-14)August 14, 1916 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 25, 2005(2005-10-25) (aged 89) Rye, New York, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Loyola (New York City) |
| College | Fordham |
| Career history | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant commander |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was an American professionalfootball executive. He was the co-owner of theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL) from1959 until his death. He was the younger son ofTim Mara, who founded the Giants in1925. Wellington was aball boy that year.
Mara was born inRochester, New York, the son ofTim Mara and Elizabeth "Lizette" Mara (née Barclay).[1] He was ofIrish descent. Mara was analumnus ofLoyola School andFordham University, bothCatholic,Jesuit schools inNew York City.
In1930, Tim Mara split his ownership interests between Wellington (then 14) and his older brotherJack. Soon after graduating from Fordham University, Wellington moved into the Giants' front office as team treasurer and assistant to his father, and became the team's secretary in1938.[2] After fighting inWorld War II in theU.S. Navy,[3] he returned to the Giants as team vice president, a post he retained after his father died in 1958.[4] When Jack, who had been president since 1941, died of cancer at age 57 prior to the1965 season, Wellington became team president.[4]
For his first 37 years in the organization, he handled the franchise's football decisions. However, his growing involvement in league affairs led him to turn over most of his day-to-day responsibilities to operations directorAndy Robustelli in1974.[5] Mara didn't relinquish full control over the football side of the operation until1979, whenGeorge Young became the team's general manager.[6]
The Giants were hamstrung for several years by a strained relationship between Wellington and his nephewTim J. Mara, who inherited Jack's stake in the team. By the 1970s, they almost never spoke to each other, and a partition had to be built in the owners' box.[7][8] The Maras continued to retain close control over the Giants' day-to-day operations long after most other owners had delegated such authority. Only the fallout from "The Fumble" in1978, in which a certain Giant win turned into a loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles on a last-second fumble, convinced the Maras of the need to modernize—among other things, by hiring Young and giving him full control over football operations.[9]
Under Mara's direction, the Giants won six NFL titles (including twoSuper Bowl wins), nine conference championships (including six Eastern Conference championships in the days before the NFL-AFL merger and three NFC championships post-merger), and 13 division championships.[2] An eighth NFL title, third and fourth Super Bowl victories, fifth NFC championship (11th conference championship overall), and 15th division title have been captured since his passing under the leadership of his son,John, and co-ownerSteve Tisch (who in turn is the son of Wellington's former co-owner from 1991 to 2005,Bob Tisch; Tisch also died in 2005, with his death coming three weeks after Mara's).[10]
The Giants have also accumulated the third highest number of victories in National Football League history. Mara was also well liked by the Giants' players, and was known to stick by them even when they struggled with off-the-field problems. WhenLawrence Taylor was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 he credited Mara for supporting him even during the worst times of his drug addiction saying, "He probably cared more about me as a person than he really should have."[11] Taylor has since lived a clean life style and credits Mara with having helped him to fight his addiction.[12] Wellington had surgery in May 2005 to removecancerouslymph nodes from his neck and under his armpit, but was initially given a good prognosis by his doctors who said the cancer had notmetastasized, according to his son,John Mara, the Giants' co-chief executive officer.[13]
Mara was married toAnn Mara, and their granddaughters include actressesKate Mara andRooney Mara, and they also have a grandson, NHL playerPatrick Brown.
Wellington Mara was enshrined in thePro Football Hall of Fame in1997. In 2007, theUniversity at Albany, where the Giants held training camp for many years, named their practice field after Mara andBob Tisch.[14] Mara was elected into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame in 2012.[15]
Not long after Mara came to work with the team, the players – many of whom were barely older than him – nicknamed him "Duke" because they knew he was named after theDuke of Wellington, whom his father called "the fightingest of all Irishmen," and the nickname stuck. TheWilson football used in NFL games prior to theAFLmerger (1941–1969) was nicknamed"THE DUKE" after Mara; the ball was named as such byGeorge Halas, the owner and head coach of theChicago Bears, to reward Tim Mara for arranging the contract that made Wilson the official supplier of footballs to the NFL.[16] Since the2006 season, a new version of "THE DUKE" has been used in NFL games.[17]
In total, Wellington Mara spent 81 seasons as a member of the Giants organization.[18]
Mara died oflymphoma at his home in October2005 at age 89. After his Friday funeral atSaint Patrick's Cathedral inMidtown Manhattan,[19][20][21] he was interred atGate of Heaven Cemetery inHawthorne. He was survived by his wifeAnn (1929–2015), eleven children, and 42 grandchildren.
Two days after his funeral, his team honored him by shutting out theWashington Redskins, the team he always viewed as the Giants' biggest (and oldest) rival, 36–0 on October 30 atGiants Stadium.[21][22] The 80,000 fans in attendance gave his mention a standing ovation.
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