John Peterman
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John Peterman (born 29 January 1941) is an American catalog and
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
from
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
, who operates the J. Peterman Company. He grew up in West Nyack, New York as the son of a banker and secretary. He is known for founding the J. Peterman Company after finding a cowboy duster on a business trip. He is also known for being fictionalized in the TV series ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
''. Peterman was also a
Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
player, Kentucky rancher, and author.


Early life

Peterman was the third of four children born to Charles and Sally Peterman. He had two brothers and a sister. Charles Peterman became a loan officer and, later, the assistant vice president of the Irving Trust Co. after working his way up from the mailroom. John Peterman grew up in Van Houten Fields, an agrarian commune in West Nyack, New York. Those who were part of the community built their own houses and grew a portion of their own food. Peterman learned to garden, tend chickens, and participate in other physical labor. His mother worked as an administrative assistant after her children started school. Peterman attended Clarkstown High School and participated in basketball, baseball, and football. He was recognized in the local newspaper for his performance in all three sports. In baseball, he played second base and was voted All-P.S.A.L Baseball first team selection as a second baseman. He graduated from Clarkstown High School in 1960.


Education and baseball career

Peterman graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in economics. He played
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
on the Holy Cross baseball teams that went to the
College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
in
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
and
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
. As a junior in 1962, he had a .362
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, and as a senior in 1963, he had a .291 batting average and led his team with 17
runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...
. He also played minor-league baseball for the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
organization for two seasons as a second baseman. In 1963, Peterman had a one-day tryout with the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
at
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where he played next to
Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
, Roger Maris, and
Tony Kubek Anthony Christopher Kubek (born October 12, 1935) is an American former professional baseball player and television sportscaster, broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the ...
, but did not sign with the team. His baseball career ended in his early 20s after a leg injury.


Business career


Sales

Peterman had a career in sales for 20 years after his baseball career ended. He worked as a regional sales manager in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama for General Foods (now
Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz (), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is t ...
) and Castle & Cooke. During his time in sales, Peterman sold dog food, cereal, pineapple, tuna fish, and inspirational tapes. In 1981, he was managing fertilizer accounts but was dismissed.


Corporate consultant

Peterman became a corporate consultant after deciding “that was the first and last time I was going to be fired.” As a corporate specialty-foods sales consultant, he helped people make deals with other companies, and it allowed him to travel. During a meeting to help a client find an advertising company, Peterman met Donald Staley and they began to work closely together. They agreed to collaborate on any entrepreneurial ideas they envisioned, which led to several businesses.


Entrepreneur

Together, Peterman and Staley started a mail-order company to heal sick houseplants as well as a manufacturing business making beer cheese; both were successful. The beer cheese business was originally Hall's Beer Cheese and Peterman bought half the company. While he was selling beer cheese, he found a horseman's duster that would propel him into the retail business. The beer cheese was being sold downstairs and the retail business was upstairs until Hall's was eventually sold.


J. Peterman Company

In 1986, Peterman was on a business trip in
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, Colorado, and decided to explore
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
. He went to Jackson Hole and bought a horseman's duster because he liked it. After wearing it consistently, he and his friend Staley decided to sell more of the coats, putting an advertisement in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''. That led to the sale of about 70 coats and the J. Peterman Company was created. In late 1988, the company's first catalog was published, with black and white drawings and a literary copy style. Color illustrations were introduced to the catalog in 1989. Peterman found unique items to sell in the catalog and Staley wrote the product descriptions. Bob Hagel was the first J. Peterman Co. illustrator and art director. He made the decision to draw and paint the clothes from the catalog without bodies, so they appeared like "well-traveled ghosts." The catalog drew the attention of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood, and Tom Hanks. The company continued to grow and, in 1995, the TV show ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' debuted J. Peterman as a character played by
John O'Hurley John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor and game show host. He played Jacopo Peterman, J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', provided the voice for King Neptune on ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', and hosted the game s ...
. After the character's first appearance, Peterman agreed with ''Seinfeld''’s lawyers that he would approve the scripts in which his fictional part had a role. The J. Peterman Co. also sold movie replicas of the "Heart of The Ocean" necklace from the 1997 film ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
''. The company sold $1 million worth of necklace replicas along with other costume and prop replicas. The J. Peterman Co. was unable to sustain its rapid growth and, in 1999, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and was bought by Paul Harris Stores. However, in 2000, Paul Harris Stores went bankrupt and Peterman was able to buy back his namesake brand. The J. Peterman Company catalog was relaunched and Tim Peterman, John Peterman's son, was the CEO of J. Peterman Company until 2014. , the president of the J. Peterman Company was Kyle Foster. The company developed Peterman's Eye, a social networking site, and an online catalog that offers mail-order inventory, as well as unique antiques.


Personal life

Peterman was married to his wife, Audrey (née Aramini, born to Ann and Albert Aramini) in 1964. They have four children: Robyn, Sean, Timothy, and Matthew. Peterman's daughter Robyn Peterman Zahn, a writer and former actress, is married to the actor Steve Zahn. They have two children, Henry James Zahn and Audrey Clair Zahn. Sean was a cattle and grain farmer until he was killed July 23, 2015, in a farming accident in Lexington, Kentucky. Tim Peterman was CEO of J. Peterman Company from 2008 until 2014, and helped build the company's web presence. Around 2014, Matt Peterman started working at the J. Peterman Company as Creative Director after spending time in Los Angeles, California, in the film business. Peterman owns a cabin on a 550-acre parcel of land in Lexington, Kentucky, that was formerly farmed by his son Sean. In 2001, Peterman presented a lecture titled "The Painful but Essential Art of Failing" at his alma mater, College of the Holy Cross.


Works

After the J. Peterman Company filed for bankruptcy and was bought by Paul Harris Stores, Peterman wrote a book, ''Peterman Rides Again'', a 2000 memoir that explores his life from his early baseball career to finding products for the catalog while traveling. It also chronicles the rise and fall of the J. Peterman Company and Peterman's lessons in entrepreneurship. The book was published November 6, 2000, and has 225 pages.


''Seinfeld'' caricature

Peterman was fictionalized in the TV
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
,'' played by
John O'Hurley John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor and game show host. He played Jacopo Peterman, J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', provided the voice for King Neptune on ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', and hosted the game s ...
'','' as
Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by former SNL cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good fri ...
' (
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...
) boss in the last three seasons. O'Hurley has said that his distinctive manner of speaking as the character was inspired by "'40s radio drama, combined with a bit of a bad Charles Kuralt."


References


External links


The J Peterman Company

Peterman's Eye - A daily brief for curious minds


An article about a talk J. Peterman gave at his '' alma mater'', The College of the Holy Cross * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterman, John 1941 births Living people Baseball players from Rockland County, New York Baseball third basemen Batavia Pirates players 20th-century American sportsmen Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky Kingsport Pirates players Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players People from West Nyack, New York College of the Holy Cross alumni