William Muldoon - Later Years

Later Years

In 1900, Muldoon opened what would become the work of his life, the well-known health institute "The Olympia," at Purchase, New York. In subsequent years through the success of the Olympia Muldoon would again gain national notice as he treated such notables there as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph Hodges Choate, publisher Ralph Pulitzer, Senator Chauncey Depew, Major General J. Franklin Bell, essayist Elbert Hubbard novelist Theodore Dreiser and Secretary of State Elihu Root, who was sent to Muldoon by President Roosevelt. In 1907 there was talk that Muldoon would be appointed to the president's cabinet to oversee physical health. For his uncompromised methods at his health farm Muldoon was dubbed the "Professor." Journalist Nellie Bly was the first woman to complete Muldoon's system.

In the spring of 1909 Muldoon made a final return to the stage in a theatrical tour organized in benefit of The Lambs. Muldoon dedicated a Civil War monument to the town of Belfast, New York, listing the names of local veterans in 1915, including that of his older brother John.

In 1921 Muldoon was personally tapped by Governor Nathan Lewis Miller as the inaugural Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, when professional boxing's status was legally restored in New York. While on NYSAC, Muldoon's czarish decrees characterized his inflexible sense of integrity to the press and sporting public. He was dubbed in the papers the "Iron Duke."

In 1927 Muldoon was profiled by “The New Yorker” magazine and in 1929 by “The Saturday Evening Post”. A biography was published in 1928, with a foreword by Jack Dempsey.

James Muldoon died at age 81 in Weschester County, New York, and was interred in a grandiose private mausoleum at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

In 1996, Muldoon was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum under the "Pioneer Era" category.