Wellington Mara - Life and Career

Life and Career

Mara was born in Rochester, New York, the son of Elizabeth "Lizette" (née Barclay), a homemaker, and Timothy James Mara. He was an alumnus of Loyola School and Fordham University, both New York City Jesuit schools.

In 1930, Timothy James Mara split his ownership interests between Wellington (then 14) and his older brother Jack. Soon after graduating from Fordham University, Wellington moved into the Giants' front office. He served as Assistant to the President and Treasurer, 1937; Secretary, 1938–1940; Vice-President and Secretary, 1945–1958; Vice-President, 1959–1965; President, 1966–1990; President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, 1991–2005. For his first 28 years in the organization, he handled the franchise's football decisions. During the early 1960s, Wellington and his brother Jack, the owners of the NFL's largest market, agreed to share television revenue on a league-wide basis, dividing the amounts of money available in cities like New York with smaller market teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.

Under Mara's direction the New York Football Giants won six NFL titles (including two Super Bowl wins), nine conference championships (including six Eastern Conference championships in the days before the NFL-AFL merger and three NFC championships post-merger), and thirteen division championships. An eighth NFL title, fourth Super Bowl victory, fifth NFC championship (eleventh conference championship overall), and fifteenth division title have been captured since his passing under the leadership of his son, John, and co-owner Steve Tisch (who in turn is the son of Wellington's former co-owner from 1991–2005, Bob Tisch; Tisch also died in 2005, with his death coming three weeks after Mara's).

The Giants have also accumulated the third highest number of victories in National Football League history. Mara was also well liked by the Giants' players, and was known to stick by them even when they struggled with off-the-field problems. When Lawrence Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 he credited Mara for supporting him even during the worst times of his drug addiction saying, "He probably cared more about me as a person than he really should have." Taylor has since lived a clean life style and credits Mara with helping him fight his addiction.

He had surgery in May 2005 to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck and under his armpit, but was initially given a good prognosis by his doctors who said the cancer had not metastasized, according to his son, John Mara, who is the Giants' co-chief executive officer.

The Wilson football used in NFL games prior to the AFL merger (1941–69) was nicknamed "THE DUKE" after Mara. For the 2006 season and beyond, a new version of "THE DUKE" has been used in NFL games.

He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Mara was married to Anne Mumm. His granddaughters are actresses Kate Mara and Rooney Mara.

In 2012, Mara was elected into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.