Early History
The Pagans were established in Prince George County, Maryland by then president Lou Dobkin, in 1959. The group started out by wearing denim jackets and riding Triumph Motorcycles. Originally they were a comradeship of 13 motorcyclists. In the 1960s they adopted a formal constitution and formed a governing structure choosing a national president.
They were a fairly non-violent group until 1965, when the Pagans evolved into an outlaw biker gang with ties to other organized crime groups such as the American Mafia. Under the leadership of John "Satan" Marron their violence grew in the early 1970s. Their Mother Club is not in a fixed location but has been generally located in the North East. Pagan leaders number 13 to 18 members who are chapter presidents with the largest chapter located in Philadelphia.
The Pagans have grown through merging with other smaller Outlaw Motorcycle gangs (OMG). Considered by law enforcement to be almost as complex and diversified as the Hells Angels, the discipline and structure of the Pagans is the most rigid of the Big Four OMGs.
Read more about this topic: Pagan's Motorcycle Club
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or history:
“No two men see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will apply in different ways a principle that they both acknowledge. The same man will, indeed, often see and judge the same things differently on different occasions: early convictions must give way to more mature ones. Nevertheless, may not the opinions that a man holds and expresses withstand all trials, if he only remains true to himself and others?”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)