Leon Hess

Infobox Person
name = Leon Hess


image_size = 250px
caption =
birth_date = March 14, 1914
birth_place = possibly Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.
death_date = May 7, 1999 (age 85)
death_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation = Businessman, Tycoon, Corporate Magnate| spouse = Norma Hess
parents =
children = Marlene Hess, Connie Hess Williams, and John B. Hess

Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) [Social Security Death Index; March 13, 1914; Social Security Number 138-14-7723] was the founder of the Hess Corporation and the owner of the New York Jets.

Biography

Leon Hess was born on March 14, 1914, and his father was a Russian immigrant who worked as a kosher butcher and an oil delivery man. Leon started his oil company with his father's one-truck oil delivery business in Asbury Park, New Jersey during the Great Depression. [Anderson, Dave. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E1DA173FF93AA35756C0A96F958260 " Sports of The Times; Hess Mulled The Return Of the Jets"] , "The New York Times", May 9, 1999. Accessed September 23, 2007. "I was born and brought up in Asbury Park, N.J.," Hess said that day in a rare appearance at a news conference."] "Everybody was broke in those days," Hess said. "I had to pay for the truck before I could deliver the oil." He supplied oil to George Patton's troops during World War II. He married Norma Wilentz in the 1940s, and had three children: Marlene Hess; Connie Hess Williams; and John B. Hess, who succeeded him as CEO of Amerada Hess Corporation. His father-in-law was David T. Wilentz, former New Jersey's Attorney General who prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnap and murder of the son of Charles Lindbergh. He acquired Amerada Corporation in 1969 after an ownership battle with Phillips Petroleum. He stepped down as chairman and CEO in 1995. "Forbes" magazine in 1998 listed his net worth at $720 million. He was part of a consortium that bought the Jets of the American Football League in 1963, when they were the New York Titans. He eventually bought out his partners: Sonny Werblin and Phil Iselin, in 1977. The New York Jets played in Shea Stadium in 1964 after four seasons in the Polo Grounds. In 1984, Hess moved the team to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Death

Hess died at Lenox Hill Hospital on May 7, 1999 from a "blood disease". He had been hospitalized with a broken hip in early April and discharged, but a day later he re-entered the hospital. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Leon Hess |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EFD8173FF93AA35756C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |quote=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 and James 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. |publisher=New York Times |date=May 9, 1999 |accessdate=2007-02-14 ]

References

External links

* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/1999/05/07/hess_death Sports Illustrated obituary]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6650043 Findagrave: Leon Hess]