William Stephen Devery: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = William |
| name = William Stephen Devery |
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| image = Billdweb.gif |
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| image = William S. Devery.gif |
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| caption = |
| caption = |
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| birth_date = January 9, 1854 |
| birth_date = January 9, 1854 |
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| birth_place = [[New York |
| birth_place = [[New York City]], US |
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| death_date = |
| death_date = {{death date and age|1919|6|20|1854|1|9}} |
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| death_place = [[Far Rockaway, New York]] |
| death_place = [[Far Rockaway, New York]], US |
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| occupation = [[New York City]] Police [[Superintendent (police)|Superintendent]] Later changed to [[Chief of Police]]<br>Baseball team owner |
| occupation = [[New York City]] Police [[Superintendent (police)|Superintendent]] Later changed to [[Chief of Police]]<br>Baseball team owner |
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| spouse = |
| spouse = |
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| parents = |
| parents = |
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| children = |
| children = 2 |
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}} |
}} |
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[[File:The Big Chief’s Fairy Godmother.jpg|thumb|William S. Devery satirized in Harper's Weekly on September 6, 1902]] |
[[File:The Big Chief’s Fairy Godmother.jpg|thumb|William S. Devery satirized in ''Harper's Weekly'' on September 6, 1902, by [[William Allen Rogers]].]] |
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'''William Stephen Devery''' (January 9, 1854 – June 20, 1919) was the last superintendent of the [[New York City Police Department]] police commission and the first police chief in 1898.<ref name=tsr>{{cite web |url=http://brooklynnorth.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html |title= The Squad Room |accessdate= |
'''William Stephen Devery''' (January 9, 1854 – June 20, 1919), nicknamed "'''Big Bill'''". was the last superintendent of the [[New York City Police Department]] police commission and the first police chief in 1898.<ref name=tsr>{{cite web |url=http://brooklynnorth.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html |title= The Squad Room |accessdate=June 14, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mapsites.net/urbanpeace/sec6/Devery.html |title=The Last Police Chief |accessdate=March 25, 2010 }}</ref> Devery and [[Frank J. Farrell]] later co-owned the [[New York Yankees]] of [[Major League Baseball]]. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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He was born in [[New York City]] in 1854. In 1878, at age 24, he was hired as a patrolman. On September 16, 1881, he was made a roundsman, and on May 28, 1884, he was promoted to a sergeant. On December 30, 1891, after 13 years on the force, he was promoted to captain. |
He was born in [[New York City]] in 1854. In 1878, at age 24, he was hired as a patrolman. On September 16, 1881, he was made a roundsman, and on May 28, 1884, he was promoted to a sergeant. On December 30, 1891, after 13 years on the force, he was promoted to captain. As a police captain he once told his men, "They tell me there's a lot of grafting going on in this precinct. They tell me that you fellows are the fiercest ever on graft. Now that's going to stop! If there's any grafting to be done, I'll do it. Leave it to me."<ref name=whale/> On February 5, 1897, he was arrested and charged with bribery and extortion. After conviction, he was dismissed from the force. He appealed his conviction in the [[New York Court of Appeals]]. It was overturned and he was reinstated to the force and promoted to inspector on January 7, 1898, and Deputy Chief on February 14, 1898. He was then appointed Chief of Police on June 30, 1898.<ref name=tsr/><ref name=NYT1/> |
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In 1899, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and Republican state legislators established a committee, headed by [[Robert Mazet]], to investigate [[Tammany Hall]] corruption under the leadership of [[Richard Croker]].<ref name=tsr/> |
In 1899, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and Republican state legislators established a committee, headed by [[Robert Mazet]], to investigate [[Tammany Hall]] corruption under the leadership of [[Richard Croker]].<ref name=tsr/> [[Lincoln Steffens]], a popular journalist of that time wrote of Devery, "As a Chief of Police, he is a disgrace, but as a character, he is a work of art."<ref name=whale>{{cite web |url=http://www.bjwhalen.com/article.htm |title=The Birth of the NYPD |accessdate=June 14, 2007 }}</ref> In 1901, the Police Department was re-organized again, and has been headed ever since by a [[New York City Police Commissioner|Police Commissioner]]. The first Commissioner [[Michael C. Murphy (New York politician)|Michael C. Murphy]] appointed Devery as his Deputy Commissioner. Both Murphy and Devery went out of office on January 1, 1902, when [[Seth Low]] became Mayor of New York. |
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| ⚫ | Later, with [[Frank J. Farrell]], he bought the [[Baltimore, Maryland]] [[American League]] baseball team and moved it to New York and renamed it the [[New York Yankees|Highlanders]]. The team almost won the American League pennant in 1904, but otherwise had poor records during the Farrell-Devery ownership era. For $300K, they sold the team in 1915 to [[Jacob Ruppert Jr.]] and [[Tillinghast L' Hommedieu Huston]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballguru.com/bburgess/analysisbburgess21.html |title=Owners Registry |accessdate=June 18, 2007 |publisher=Baseball Guru }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/timeline1.jsp |title=Yankees Timeline |accessdate=June 18, 2007 |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Frank J. Farrell, Sportsman, Dies. Suffers a Heart Attack While Recuperating From Bronchitis in Atlantic City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/02/11/archives/frank-j-farrell-sportsman-dies-suffers-a-heart-attack-while.html |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=February 11, 1926|accessdate=June 18, 2007 }}</ref> |
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As a police captain he once told his men, "They tell me there's a lot of grafting going on in this precinct. They tell me that you fellows are the fiercest ever on graft. Now that's going to stop! If there's any grafting to be done, I'll do it. Leave it to me."<ref name=whale/> |
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He died on June 20, 1919, at 4:15 p.m. of [[apoplexy]] in [[Far Rockaway, New York]].<ref name=NYT1>{{cite news |title='Big Bill' Devery Dies of Apoplexy |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E6D8173AE03ABC4951DFB0668382609EDE |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=June 21, 1919|accessdate=June 14, 2007 }}</ref> |
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[[Lincoln Steffens]], a popular journalist of that time wrote of Devery, "As a Chief of Police, he is a disgrace, but as a character, he is a work of art."<ref name=whale>{{cite web |url=http://www.bjwhalen.com/article.htm |title=The Birth of the NYPD |accessdate=2007-06-14 |work= }}</ref> The superintendent of the police commission title was changed to chief of police in 1898. |
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| ⚫ | Later with [[Frank J. Farrell]], he bought the [[Baltimore, Maryland]] baseball team and moved it to New York and renamed it the [[New York |
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He died on June 20, 1919 at 4:15 p.m. of [[apoplexy]] in [[Far Rockaway, New York]].<ref name=NYT1>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title='Big Bill' Devery Dies of Apoplexy |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E6D8173AE03ABC4951DFB0668382609EDE |quote=New York's Picturesque Police Chief of Long Ago Stricken at Far Rockaway. Famed for his philosophy. First "Chief of Police" City Had. Van Wyck Called Him the Best. Later Ran for Mayor. Was [[Richard Croker]]'s Right-Hand Man. Acquitted of Extortion Charge. Made Deputy Police Commissioner. His Characteristic Reply to Gaynor. His Philosophy of Life. His Remarks on His New Abode. Mourned by Men of the Force. William S. Devery, "Big Bill" Devery, as he was generally known, who was the city's first titular Chief of Police after consolidation, and was called by Mayor Van Wyck "the best New York ever had," who worked his way from patrolman to Chief of the department and for a time served as First Deputy Commissioner, died at 4:15 o'clock ... |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=June 21, 1919, Saturday |accessdate=2007-06-14 }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[https://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/Goff+OR+Lexow+OR+Parkhurst+%22William+Stephen+Devery%22+OR+%22William+S+Devery%22+OR+%22William+Devery%22/from18900101to19170401/allresults/1/allauthors/oldest/ William Stephen Devery articles in New York Times] |
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{{succession box | |
{{succession box | |
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title=[[New York City Police Commissioner]]| |
title=[[New York City Police Commissioner|Chief of the New York City Police]]| |
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before=[[John McCullagh]] | |
before=[[John McCullagh (superintendent)|John McCullagh]] <br>as Superintendent of Police| |
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after=[[Michael C. Murphy ( |
after=[[Michael C. Murphy (New York politician)|Michael C. Murphy]] <br>as Police Commissioner | |
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years= |
years=1898–1901}} |
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{{s-bus}} |
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{{succession box |
{{succession box |
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| before=[[ |
| before=[[Ban Johnson]] |
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| title=Owner of the [[New York Yankees]] |
| title=Owner of the [[New York Yankees]] |
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| years=with [[Frank J. Farrell]] |
| years=with [[Frank J. Farrell]] 1903–1915 |
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| after= [[Jacob Ruppert |
| after= [[Jacob Ruppert Jr.]] and [[Tillinghast L' Hommedieu Huston]]}} |
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{{end |
{{s-end}} |
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{{New York Yankees owners}} |
{{New York Yankees owners}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Devery, William |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = January 9, 1854 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[New York, New York]] |
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| DATE OF DEATH = June 20, 1919 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Far Rockaway, New York]] |
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}} |
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[[Category:1854 births]] |
[[Category:1854 births]] |
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[[Category:1919 deaths]] |
[[Category:1919 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Major League Baseball owners]] |
[[Category:Major League Baseball owners]] |
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[[Category:New York Yankees owners]] |
[[Category:New York Yankees owners]] |
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[[Category:New York City Police Commissioners]] |
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[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]] |
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Latest revision as of 17:02, 21 June 2023
William Stephen Devery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 9, 1854 New York City, US |
| Died | June 20, 1919 (aged 65) |
| Occupation(s) | New York City Police Superintendent Later changed to Chief of Police Baseball team owner |
| Children | 2 |
William Stephen Devery (January 9, 1854 – June 20, 1919), nicknamed "Big Bill". was the last superintendent of the New York City Police Department police commission and the first police chief in 1898.[1][2] Devery and Frank J. Farrell later co-owned the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Biography[edit]
He was born in New York City in 1854. In 1878, at age 24, he was hired as a patrolman. On September 16, 1881, he was made a roundsman, and on May 28, 1884, he was promoted to a sergeant. On December 30, 1891, after 13 years on the force, he was promoted to captain. As a police captain he once told his men, "They tell me there's a lot of grafting going on in this precinct. They tell me that you fellows are the fiercest ever on graft. Now that's going to stop! If there's any grafting to be done, I'll do it. Leave it to me."[3] On February 5, 1897, he was arrested and charged with bribery and extortion. After conviction, he was dismissed from the force. He appealed his conviction in the New York Court of Appeals. It was overturned and he was reinstated to the force and promoted to inspector on January 7, 1898, and Deputy Chief on February 14, 1898. He was then appointed Chief of Police on June 30, 1898.[1][4]
In 1899, Theodore Roosevelt and Republican state legislators established a committee, headed by Robert Mazet, to investigate Tammany Hall corruption under the leadership of Richard Croker.[1] Lincoln Steffens, a popular journalist of that time wrote of Devery, "As a Chief of Police, he is a disgrace, but as a character, he is a work of art."[3] In 1901, the Police Department was re-organized again, and has been headed ever since by a Police Commissioner. The first Commissioner Michael C. Murphy appointed Devery as his Deputy Commissioner. Both Murphy and Devery went out of office on January 1, 1902, when Seth Low became Mayor of New York.
Later, with Frank J. Farrell, he bought the Baltimore, Maryland American League baseball team and moved it to New York and renamed it the Highlanders. The team almost won the American League pennant in 1904, but otherwise had poor records during the Farrell-Devery ownership era. For $300K, they sold the team in 1915 to Jacob Ruppert Jr. and Tillinghast L' Hommedieu Huston.[5][6][7]
He died on June 20, 1919, at 4:15 p.m. of apoplexy in Far Rockaway, New York.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "The Squad Room". Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ "The Last Police Chief". Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ a b "The Birth of the NYPD". Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ a b "'Big Bill' Devery Dies of Apoplexy". New York Times. June 21, 1919. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ "Owners Registry". Baseball Guru. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
- ^ "Yankees Timeline". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
- ^ "Frank J. Farrell, Sportsman, Dies. Suffers a Heart Attack While Recuperating From Bronchitis in Atlantic City". New York Times. February 11, 1926. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
External links[edit]
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