Sunday, 22 December 2024

Arthur Wirtz

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2024
Sport(s): Hockey Owner
Statistics: 5 Stanley Cups (1936, 1937, 1943, 1950 & 1961)
Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
From Chicago, Arthur Wirtz formed a business partnership with James E. Norris, and the two began to purchase real estate and arenas. This led to the next logical step, purchasing a hockey team, which they did in 1933, the Detroit Falcons, along with their home arena, Olympia Stadium.

Wirtz and Norris renamed the team the Red Wings, and their team won three Stanley Cups in the 1930s and 1940s and a fourth in 1950. Wirtz and Norris also bought into the Chicago Blackhawks in 1952, and following Norris's death, Wirtz and Norris's family amicably dissolved their partnership, with the Norris family running the Red Wings and Wirtz taking sole ownership of the Blackhawks. Wirtz won another Stanley Cup with Chicago in 1961.

Notably, Wirtz and Norris also went into boxing, forming the International Boxing Club, which promoted numerous title fights in the late 1950s.

We are proud to nominate Arthur Wirtz for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.