John Wilmer Galbreath (August 10, 1897 – July 20, 1988) was an American

building contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

and sportsman. Born in

Derby, Ohio Derby is a census-designated place in central Darby Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily locate ...

, he grew up in

Mount Sterling, Ohio Mount Sterling is a village in Madison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,782 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Mount Sterling is located at (39.719528, -83.267999) ...

, where he graduated from high school. He then graduated from

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in 1922 and was a member of the Beta chapter of

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...

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 Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheele ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

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 Thomas Phillips Johnson (June 8, 1914 – May 23, 2000) was an American Lawyer, attorney, businessman, philanthropist, Republican Party (United States), Republican Party activist, and sportsman. He was probably best known for being a minority ow ...

. 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 championships — in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, 1971, and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. Galbreath was the first owner to break the so-called "Million Dollar Mark" when he signed

Dave Parker David Gene Parker (born June 9, 1951), nicknamed "The Cobra," is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1973 to 1991. A seven-time All-Star, Parker won two National League bat ...

to a multi-year contract in

. During his tenure, the Pirates also drafted Hall of Fame player

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

from the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1954 Rule 5 draft.

Thoroughbred horse racing

In 1935 John W. Galbreath founded

Darby Dan Farm Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath (1 ...

near the Darby Creek in

Galloway, Ohio Galloway is an unincorporated community west of the city of Columbus in southern Prairie Township, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The 43119 ZIP Code, however (which carries a Galloway mailing address) covers a significant portion of rural ...

. In 1949 he purchased the core property of

Idle Hour Stock Farm Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400-acre (1.6 km2) thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm near Lexington, Kentucky, United States established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R. Bradley. Beginning with the sire, Black Toney, and a roster of quali ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and renamed it Darby Dan Farm. Galbreath met his second wife Dorothy through

thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

. 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. The others are Paul Mellon,

Michael Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British businessman, bookmaker, gambler and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Tabor regularly appears on the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' of the richest people in Britain. In 2012 his fortune w ...

, 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 The Big Sport of Turfdom Award has been given annually by the Turf Publicists of America since 1966 to a person or group who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media and Thoroughbred racing publicists. The Turf Pu ...

by the Turf Publicists of America and in 1974 he won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder. In 2018, Galbreath was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame as one of its esteemed Pillars of the Turf. Galbreath died in

, three weeks prior to his 91st birthday. Galbreath's death occurred five and a half weeks prior to the passing of

Art Rooney Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football franchise in the National Football League (NFL), from 1933 until his death ...

, who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933 and owned the franchise for 55 years.

Awards and honors

* Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

(1961) * Columbus Award (1964) *

(1972) * Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder (1974) * National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Pillar of the Turf (2018)

External links

1963 Newspaper article on his baseball and horse racing interests

References

* Bowen, Edward L. '' Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders'' (2003) Eclipse Press
June 1, 1959 ''Sports Illustrated'' article titled ''The Man, The Horse And The Deal That Made History''

1988 ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbreath, John Wilmer 1897 births 1988 deaths American racehorse owners and breeders Eclipse Award winners Owners of Epsom Derby winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Major League Baseball owners People from Madison County, Ohio Pittsburgh Pirates owners Ohio University alumni People from Franklin County, Ohio 20th-century American philanthropists