Jack A. Vickers
Jack A. Vickers Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 August 1925 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | 24 September 2018 (aged 93) |
| Occupation(s) | Oil industry executive, sports executive, amateur golfer |
| Known for | President of Vickers Petroleum Company; co-founder of Castle Pines Golf Club; co-owner of Colorado Rockies (NHL) |
Jack A. Vickers Jr. (August 8, 1925 – September 24, 2018) was a prominent figure in both the oil industry and sports management. His professional journey commenced in 1946 at Vickers Petroleum Company where he started as a scout. He quickly climbed the corporate ladder, serving as vice president from 1949 until 1952, when he was promoted to president. During the 1960s, Vickers held leadership positions at Bell Oil & Gas and TransOcean Oil. Between 1973 and 1980, he led Vickers Energy Corporation as chairman.
In the realm of sports, Vickers was an active amateur golfer in the 1940s and 1950s. As a sports executive, he sponsored a Wichita team competing in the National Industrial Basketball League during the 1950s and played a key role in acquiring the Kansas City Scouts NHL franchise in the 1970s before becoming co-owner of the Colorado Rockies. In 1981, alongside Jack Nicklaus, he co-established the Castle Pines Golf Club, which hosted the PGA Tour’s The International event until its conclusion in 2007. Vickers earned induction into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and was honored with the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Early life and education
Vickers was born on August 8, 1925, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was one of eight children and experienced the loss of his father in 1940. He pursued higher education at Regis College and played collegiate golf at the University of Oklahoma. His service record includes time in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.
Oil career
Following his graduation in 1946, Vickers embarked on his career at Vickers Petroleum Company as a scout. By 1949, he had been elevated to vice president and assumed the presidency by 1952. That same year marked the establishment of his oil venture, Vickers Exploration, which included partnerships with notable personalities such as Sam Goldwyn and Jack Benny.
In 1965, he took ownership of Bell Oil & Gas based in Tulsa and took on an executive role. Throughout that decade, he was actively involved with the American Petroleum Institute, holding several executive positions. The year 1968 saw Swift and Company acquire both Vickers Petroleum and Bell Oil & Gas. When Swift gained part-ownership of TransOcean Oil in 1969, Vickers joined their boards as a director.
After Swift rebranded as Esmark in 1973, Vickers chaired Esmark’s subsidiary, Vickers Energy Corporation, until its divestiture in 1980.
Golf
Vickers’ engagement with golf began at age thirteen. His competitive highlights include reaching the semi-finals of the Wichita amateur championship in 1947 and advancing to the final sixteen of the Kansas amateur championship in 1946. In 1950, he made it to the finals of the Trans-Mississippi Championship and qualified for the U.S. Amateur qualifiers scheduled for 1953.
In 1971, Vickers collaborated with Arnold Palmer and Robert M. Haynie on developing residential properties at Ironwood Country Club located in Palm Desert; he maintained involvement until 1973. A decade later, in 1981, he co-founded Castle Pines Golf Club alongside Jack Nicklaus.
Aiming to raise Castle Pines’ profile, Vickers petitioned for a PGA Tour event to be held at the club starting in 1984. The venue successfully hosted The International tournament beginning in 1986 until its discontinuation by Vickers in 2007 due to difficulties securing sponsorships. At the time of his passing in 2018, he held membership at Augusta National Golf Club.
Additional sports involvement
Vickers and his firm sponsored a Wichita-based team that entered the National Industrial Basketball League in 1955, maintaining their support throughout the 1950s. While preparing for the 1976 Winter Olympics, he formed a National Advisory Committee in August 1972, initially endorsing Denver as the host city until its withdrawal in November of the same year.
At Vickers Energy, he played a role in acquiring the Kansas City Scouts in 1976 prior to the NHL franchise's relocation and rebranding as the Colorado Rockies, where Vickers held a position as co-owner. In 1978, he sold the Rockies to Arthur Imperatore.
During the late 1970s, Vickers headed the Flatirons Club at the University of Colorado, where he was instrumental in recruiting Chuck Fairbanks as head coach for Colorado’s football program, successfully negotiating Fairbanks’ move from the New England Patriots despite his existing contract with the NFL team.
Awards and honors
Throughout his professional journey, Vickers earned recognition as Kansas’ Oil Man of the Year in 1957. The following year, Esquire Magazine included him among their "Bright Young Men In Business" in 1958. He was honored as Person of the Year by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1985 and later received the Robert M. Kirchner Award from the Colorado Open in 1994. In 2014, Vickers was bestowed with the prestigious PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award.
Between 2008 and 2013, both the Jack A. Vickers Invitational and the Jack A. Vickers Boys & Girls Club were established in his name. His inductions include membership in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame (1985), Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (1999), Denver & Colorado Travel Industry Hall of Fame (2007), and Colorado Business Hall of Fame (2009).
Personal life and death
Vickers fathered ten children during his marriage. He died on September 24, 2018.