Frank M. McMahon
Encyclopedia
Frank Murray Patrick McMahon (October 2, 1902 - May 20, 1986) was a Canadian
businessman best known as the founder and first chairman of Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. whom the July 15, 1957 issue of TIME
magazine called "The man who did the most to open up northwest Canada's wilderness—and convince oilmen of its treasures." http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809686-2,00.html
In addition, McMahon was a major racehorse
owner/breeder whose Thoroughbred
s competed in North America
and Europe
and who won the 1969 Kentucky Derby
and Preakness Stakes
with the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
colt, Majestic Prince
.
of British Columbia
, Canada
, the son of a hard-rock miner.
He attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he was a campus mate of Bing Crosby. As a young man, he worked as a driller for British Columbia mining companies until 1927 when he founded his own diamond-drilling contracting business which he expanded into drilling for oil
and natural gas
.
in Alberta
. Their major find generated sufficient revenues and income to allow for expansion through acquisitions and exploration. He later merged two smaller companies with West Turner and formed a holding company, Pacific Petroleums Ltd.
In 1945 McMahon founded Atlantic Oil Company and acquired rights to a part of the Leduc field, near Leduc, Alberta
. After Imperial Oil's discovery of oil at Leduc in 1947, the Atlantic No. 3 well discovered oil on March 8, 1948. It was well-publicized due to the oil blowout that took six months to contain and a well fire that started in the week prior to the well being contained. The well propelled McMahon's wealth. Pacific's headquarters were set up in Calgary, Alberta.
In December 1947, McMahon's operations began oil and gas exploration in the Peace River Region
after the B.C. government opened the area to exploration.
In November 1951, Pacific's Fort St. John No. 1 well found significant quantities of good quality oil, B.C.'s first oil discovery. In 1952 the company drilled the first of many high-producing gas wells at Fort St. John
.
In about 1961 McMahon and his brother George sold their controlling interest in Pacific Petroleums to Phillips Petroleum Company. In 1977 Pacific Petroleums was purchased by Petro-Canada
.
in north-eastern British Columbia to the United States.
McMahon personally began lobbying
the Canadian and American governments to remove their restrictions on the export and import of natural gas. In December 1954, he signed a $400-million contract with Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corp. to sell natural gas into their pipeline system in the United States. In 1955 Westcoast was awarded permission from the U.S. Federal Power Commission to export gas to the U.S. Construction started the same year on the $170-million, 650-mile Westcoast Pipeline
from the Peace River area to the U.S. border, to hook into the Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corp.'s six-state gas grid and to supply gas to Vancouver. The pipeline was Canada's first "big-inch
" pipeline. Along with its gathering system, processing plants and compressor stations were completed in the fall of 1957.
In 1964, Westcoast Transmission built another processing plant at Fort Nelson, British Columbia
in support of an additional 250 mile line to the company's new discoveries in the Canadian Northwest.
After McMahon's death in 1986, Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. was renamed Westcoast Energy Inc. and in 2002 Duke Energy
of Charlotte, North Carolina
paid $8 billion for the company.
Frank McMahon's significant contribution to Canada's economic prosperity was recognized by his election to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame
.
and Damn Yankees
.
, raced thoroughbreds on his own as well as in partnership with others.
His Frank McMahon Stable Inc. won numerous races at racetracks across Canada including the 1966 British Columbia Derby
at Exhibition Park Racetrack
in Vancouver and the 1970 Canadian Derby
at Edmonton, Alberta's Northlands Park
. His most famous horse was Majestic Prince.
Frank McMahon was inducted in the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1995 in the breeders/owners category.
with U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey-turned-trainer Johnny Longden
. Among the horses they raced was the great Majestic Prince
whose important stakes
include the 1969 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Majestic Prince was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1988 and was listed at No. 46. in The Blood-Horse magazine
ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In 1975, McMahon had another Triple Crown contender with Diabolo who finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and was fourth in the Belmont Stakes.
which won the 1953 Hollywood Gold Cup
with Royal Serenade.
Together with Calgary
newspaper publisher Max Bell
, Frank McMahon founded the Golden West Farms
thoroughbred breeding operation at Okotoks, Alberta
. Among its notable wins, Golden West Farms racing stable won the 1968 Queen's Plate
with Merger
. In partnership with American singer, Bing Crosby
, McMahon and Bell owned Meadow Court
who raced in Europe where he won the 1965 Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
McMahon also teamed up with Kentucky
horseman Leslie Combs II of Spendthrift Farm
to breed Crowned Prince who in 1970 became the first yearling to be sold at auction for half a million dollars. A younger brother of Majestic Prince, Frank McMahon won the bidding for Crowned Prince and sent him to race in England
where he won the Dewhurst
and Champagne Stakes and was the 1971 Champion two-year-old Colt in England. Leslie Combs also bred McMahon's Triple Bend
, a colt who set a world record time in winning the 1972 Los Angeles Handicap
.
, to help build a football stadium. They also guaranteed the $750,000 balance of the $1,050,000 construction cost. It was named McMahon Stadium
in their honour.
The university acquired complete ownership of the stadium and land in 1985 after the guaranteed financing was retired in 1973. The stadium is operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. Until the guaranteed financing was retired the McMahons appointed two of the six members of the society. The first treasurer of the society was the McMahons' accountant, William Macintosh.
In 2001 the McMahon brothers were named to the Calgary Stampeders
Wall of Fame in the builder category.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman best known as the founder and first chairman of Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. whom the July 15, 1957 issue of TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine called "The man who did the most to open up northwest Canada's wilderness—and convince oilmen of its treasures." http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809686-2,00.html
In addition, McMahon was a major racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
owner/breeder whose Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
s competed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and who won the 1969 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
and Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
with the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
colt, Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000...
.
Early life
Frank McMahon was born in the village of Moyie in the East KootenaysKootenays
The Kootenay Region comprises the southeastern portion of British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Ktunaxa First Nation first encountered by explorer David Thompson.-Boundaries:The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay Land...
of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the son of a hard-rock miner.
He attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he was a campus mate of Bing Crosby. As a young man, he worked as a driller for British Columbia mining companies until 1927 when he founded his own diamond-drilling contracting business which he expanded into drilling for oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
.
Pacific Petroleums
Frank McMahon and two brothers established West Turner Petroleums to explore and develop oil deposits in the Turner Valley OilfieldsTurner Valley, Alberta
Turner Valley is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located southwest of Calgary.Situated on Highway 22 , the town was once the centre of an oil and natural gas boom. For 30 years, the Turner Valley Oilfields was a major supplier of oil and gas and the largest producer in the British Empire, but is...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. Their major find generated sufficient revenues and income to allow for expansion through acquisitions and exploration. He later merged two smaller companies with West Turner and formed a holding company, Pacific Petroleums Ltd.
In 1945 McMahon founded Atlantic Oil Company and acquired rights to a part of the Leduc field, near Leduc, Alberta
Leduc, Alberta
- Demographics :The population of the City of Leduc according to its 2011 municipal census is 24,139, a 3.6% increase over its 2010 municipal census population of 23,293....
. After Imperial Oil's discovery of oil at Leduc in 1947, the Atlantic No. 3 well discovered oil on March 8, 1948. It was well-publicized due to the oil blowout that took six months to contain and a well fire that started in the week prior to the well being contained. The well propelled McMahon's wealth. Pacific's headquarters were set up in Calgary, Alberta.
In December 1947, McMahon's operations began oil and gas exploration in the Peace River Region
Peace River Regional District, British Columbia
The Peace River Regional District is a regional district in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The regional district comprises seven municipalities and four electoral areas. Its member municipalities are the cities of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, the district municipalities of Tumbler Ridge,...
after the B.C. government opened the area to exploration.
In November 1951, Pacific's Fort St. John No. 1 well found significant quantities of good quality oil, B.C.'s first oil discovery. In 1952 the company drilled the first of many high-producing gas wells at Fort St. John
Fort St. John, British Columbia
The City of Fort St. John is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 22,000 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway. Originally...
.
In about 1961 McMahon and his brother George sold their controlling interest in Pacific Petroleums to Phillips Petroleum Company. In 1977 Pacific Petroleums was purchased by Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...
.
Westcoast Transmission
McMahon saw an enormous opportunity to supply natural gas to the huge United States market. In 1949 he incorporated Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. whose business plan included the construction of a 650-mile gas pipeline from TaylorTaylor, British Columbia
The District of Taylor is a small town in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on mile 36 of the Alaska Highway. Taylor, a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, covers an area of about 17 km² with 1,380 residents. As it is just south of the much larger city of...
in north-eastern British Columbia to the United States.
McMahon personally began lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
the Canadian and American governments to remove their restrictions on the export and import of natural gas. In December 1954, he signed a $400-million contract with Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corp. to sell natural gas into their pipeline system in the United States. In 1955 Westcoast was awarded permission from the U.S. Federal Power Commission to export gas to the U.S. Construction started the same year on the $170-million, 650-mile Westcoast Pipeline
Westcoast Pipeline
Westcoast Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia that brings natural gas to the United States and to TransCanada pipeline. Built in 1957 by Frank McMahon's Westcoast Transmission Co...
from the Peace River area to the U.S. border, to hook into the Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corp.'s six-state gas grid and to supply gas to Vancouver. The pipeline was Canada's first "big-inch
Big Inch
The Big Inch and its companion project, the Little Big Inch, are petroleum pipelines constructed during 1942 and 1943 as an emergency war measure from Texas to New Jersey. Until World War II, petroleum products had been transported from the oil fields of Texas to the northeastern United States by...
" pipeline. Along with its gathering system, processing plants and compressor stations were completed in the fall of 1957.
In 1964, Westcoast Transmission built another processing plant at Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Fort Nelson is a town of approximately 5000 residents in British Columbia's northeastern corner. It is the administrative centre of the newly formed Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, a first for BC. The majority of Fort Nelson's economic activities have historically been concentrated in the...
in support of an additional 250 mile line to the company's new discoveries in the Canadian Northwest.
After McMahon's death in 1986, Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. was renamed Westcoast Energy Inc. and in 2002 Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
of Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
paid $8 billion for the company.
Other business interests
In the 1950s McMahon had an interest in Alberta Distillers Ltd. In October 1957, Time Magazine estimated his worth at $50-million and that he controlled assets in partnership with others that totalled about $500-million.Frank McMahon's significant contribution to Canada's economic prosperity was recognized by his election to the Canadian Business Hall of Fame
Canadian Business Hall of Fame
The Canadian Business Hall of Fame honours "Canada's most distinguished business leaders", selected by an independent panel representing Canadian business, academic and media institutions....
.
Broadway plays
In the 1950s Frank McMahon backed a number of Broadway plays in New York, including The Pajama GameThe Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
and Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
Frank McMahon, a founding member of the Jockey Club of CanadaJockey Club of Canada
The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee.Founding members:...
, raced thoroughbreds on his own as well as in partnership with others.
His Frank McMahon Stable Inc. won numerous races at racetracks across Canada including the 1966 British Columbia Derby
British Columbia Derby
The British Columbia Breeders' Cup Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of September at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, British Columbia....
at Exhibition Park Racetrack
Hastings Racecourse
Hastings Racecourse is a horse racing facility at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally called East Park, it opened for business in 1889...
in Vancouver and the 1970 Canadian Derby
Canadian Derby
The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta. A Grade III event held near the end of August, it is open to thee-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of one and three-eights miles...
at Edmonton, Alberta's Northlands Park
Northlands Park
Northlands Park is the "Alberta A circuit" horse racing track at Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta. The horse racing season generally consists of a spring harness meet from February/March, a Thoroughbred meet from May/June to September/October and a fall harness meet to mid-December. Northlands Park...
. His most famous horse was Majestic Prince.
Frank McMahon was inducted in the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1995 in the breeders/owners category.
Majestic Prince
He set up a racing stable in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey-turned-trainer Johnny Longden
Johnny Longden
John Eric Longden was an American Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England but his father wanted to build a better life for his family so in 1909 emigrated to Canada, settling in Taber, Alberta. By 1912 Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son...
. Among the horses they raced was the great Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000...
whose important stakes
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
include the 1969 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Majestic Prince was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1988 and was listed at No. 46. in The Blood-Horse magazine
The Blood-Horse magazine
The Blood-Horse is an international weekly news magazine about Thoroughbred horses, horse breeding, and horseracing. It was founded in 1916, the oldest continually published North American Thoroughbred magazine. The magazine is based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Horse Capital of the World...
ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. In 1975, McMahon had another Triple Crown contender with Diabolo who finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and was fourth in the Belmont Stakes.
Racing partnerships
In the 1950s he was part owner of Alberta Ranches, Ltd.Alberta Ranches, Ltd.
Alberta Ranches, Ltd. was a Thoroughbred horse racing partnership between U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey and Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Johnny Longden, his son Vance, and businessmen and Frank McMahon, Wilder H. Ripley, and Max Bell. The three men were all longtime friends from the Province of...
which won the 1953 Hollywood Gold Cup
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
with Royal Serenade.
Together with Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
newspaper publisher Max Bell
Max Bell
George Maxwell "Max" Bell was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist. He was best known as the co-founder of FP Publications, Canada's largest newspaper syndicate in the 1960s. He built his newspaper empire after inheriting the Calgary Albertan, and its $500,000 debt,...
, Frank McMahon founded the Golden West Farms
Golden West Farms
Golden West Farms was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm at Okotoks, Alberta owned by Frank McMahon and Max Bell.Both partners were successful businessmen who invested in Thoroughbred racehorses. Frank McMahon most notably owned U.S. Racing Hall of Fame colt Majestic...
thoroughbred breeding operation at Okotoks, Alberta
Okotoks, Alberta
Okotoks is a town situated on the Sheep River, south of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The town is a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership, a cooperative of communities within the Calgary Region. Okotoks has become a popular bedroom community for the City of Calgary...
. Among its notable wins, Golden West Farms racing stable won the 1968 Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
with Merger
Merger (horse)
Merger is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1968 Queen's Plate, Canada's most prestigious horse race....
. In partnership with American singer, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, McMahon and Bell owned Meadow Court
Meadow Court
Meadow Court was a British Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:He was bred by the American heiress Elisabeth Ireland Poe who owned Shawnee Farm in Harrodsburg, Kentucky as well as a racing and breeding operation in Ireland. Meadow Court was sired by Court Harwell, and out of the mare Meadow Music...
who raced in Europe where he won the 1965 Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
McMahon also teamed up with Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
horseman Leslie Combs II of Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion, Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ancestor, Daniel Swigert of Elmendorf Farm. Spendthrift was the great-grandfather of Man o' War.- Famous...
to breed Crowned Prince who in 1970 became the first yearling to be sold at auction for half a million dollars. A younger brother of Majestic Prince, Frank McMahon won the bidding for Crowned Prince and sent him to race in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he won the Dewhurst
Dewhurst Stakes
The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.The event was established in 1875, and it...
and Champagne Stakes and was the 1971 Champion two-year-old Colt in England. Leslie Combs also bred McMahon's Triple Bend
Triple Bend
Triple Bend was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who set a world record time of 119.80 for seven furlongs on dirt in winning the 1972 Los Angeles Handicap...
, a colt who set a world record time in winning the 1972 Los Angeles Handicap
Los Angeles Handicap
The Los Angeles Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in May at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. A Grade III sprint race run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs, it is open to horses aged three and older.The 1968 race was run in two...
.
McMahon Stadium
In 1960 Frank and brother George McMahon donated $300,000 to the then University of Alberta (Calgary), now the University of CalgaryUniversity of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
, to help build a football stadium. They also guaranteed the $750,000 balance of the $1,050,000 construction cost. It was named McMahon Stadium
McMahon Stadium
McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football stadium located in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society....
in their honour.
The university acquired complete ownership of the stadium and land in 1985 after the guaranteed financing was retired in 1973. The stadium is operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. Until the guaranteed financing was retired the McMahons appointed two of the six members of the society. The first treasurer of the society was the McMahons' accountant, William Macintosh.
In 2001 the McMahon brothers were named to the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
Wall of Fame in the builder category.