American businessman
John W. Galbreath
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Born
| August 10, 1897
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Died
| July 20, 1988
(1988-07-20)
(aged 90)
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Alma mater
| Ohio University
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Occupation(s)
| Business man, horse breeder
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Awards
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John Wilmer Galbreath
(August 10, 1897 ? July 20, 1988) was an American
building contractor
and sportsman.
Born in
Derby, Ohio
, he grew up in
Mount Sterling, Ohio
, where he graduated from high school. He then graduated from
Ohio University
in 1922 and was a member of the Beta chapter of
Delta Tau Delta
International Fraternity. The non-denominational Galbreath Memorial Chapel on the Ohio University College Green was donated by Galbreath in memory of his first wife, Helen Mauck, who died in 1946.
In 1955, he married Dorothy Bryan Firestone, widow of Russell Allen Firestone of the
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
.
Pittsburgh Pirates
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John Galbreath made a fortune in commercial
property development
, building
skyscrapers
in the United States and abroad. However, he may be best known for his role as owner of the
Pittsburgh Pirates
. He initially held a 20 percent stake in majority owner
Frank E. McKinney
's four-man syndicate when it purchased the Pirates on August 8, 1946. Galbreath's partners also included entertainer
Bing Crosby
and Pittsburgh attorney
Thomas P. Johnson
.
Not quite four years later, when McKinney sold his 50 percent stake, Galbreath acquired majority control on July 18, 1950. He was the Pirates' principal owner through 1985, during which the Pirates won three world series championships ? in
1960
,
1971
, and
1979
. Galbreath was the first owner to break the so-called "Million Dollar Mark" when he signed
Dave Parker
to a multi-year contract in
1979
. During his tenure, the Pirates also drafted
Hall of Fame
player
Roberto Clemente
from the
Brooklyn Dodgers
in the 1954
Rule 5 draft
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
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In 1935, Galbreath founded
Darby Dan Farm
near the Darby Creek in
Galloway, Ohio
. In 1949, he purchased the 650-acre (2.6 km
2
) core property of
Idle Hour Stock Farm
in
Kentucky
and renamed it Darby Dan Farm.
[1]
Galbreath met his second wife Dorothy through
thoroughbred racing
. She had been involved in the sport with her first husband and would be very active with Darby Dan breeding and racing. The Darby Dan Farm raced several champion horses. John Galbreath is one of only four men to have raced both a Kentucky Derby winner and an Epsom Derby winner.
[2]
The others are
Paul Mellon
,
Michael Tabor
, and
Prince Ahmed bin Salman
.
In the early 1950s, he served as chairman of the Greater New York Association. During his time, he oversaw the construction of the new
Aqueduct Racetrack
and the extensive rebuilding of
Belmont Park
.
John Galbreath was voted the 1972
Big Sport of Turfdom Award
by the Turf Publicists of America and in 1974 he won the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
.
[3]
In 2018, Galbreath was voted into the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
as one of its esteemed
Pillars of the Turf
.
[4]
Galbreath died in
Galloway, Ohio
, three weeks prior to his 91st birthday.
Awards and honors
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External links
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References
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International
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National
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Other
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