Valentine Cecil Bruce Wetmore (1875–1953) was an American businessman who was associated with Charles Adams in operating

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to crea ...

and the Boston Braves.

Business career

Wetmore was born on December 20, 1875, in

Gagetown, New Brunswick Gagetown (2016 population: 711) is a village in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated on the west bank of the Saint John River and is the county's shire town. History Acadians Gagetown was originally named Grimross by the Ac ...

. He moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1890. In 1906 he founded the Wetmore-Savage Company, an electrical supply business, with Hanson M. Savage. In 1918 the company went into the automotive equipment business following its purchase of the Motor Car Equipment Co. Wetmore-Savage was the New England distributor for Westinghouse,

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, Holophane, and the

Auburn Rubber Company The Auburn Rubber Company was a rubber products manufacturer best known for its line of children's toys. It was probably the largest producer of rubber and vinyl toys in the world, though Norway's Tomte Laerdal, Finland's Plasto, and Sweden's Gal ...

. In 1925, Westinghouse purchased the Wetmore-Savage Electric Supply Company, but not its automotive equipment business. Wetmore remained president of Wetmore-Savage following the sale. In 1931, Wetmore and John W. Scott started the Wetmore-Scott Company to sell Westinghouse household appliances in

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

. In 1933, Wetmore-Scott was sold to Westinghouse. Wetmore later served as Westinghouse's New England manager.

Sports

In 1927, Wetmore, along with Charles Adams and Charles H. Farnsworth purchased shares in the Boston Braves from Albert H. Powell. At the time he invested in the club, Wetmore was not a baseball fan. He eventually succeeded longtime team treasurer Albert M. Lyon and was credited with installing "businesslike and economical reforms" by majority owner Emil Fuchs. Adams and Wetmore were also the main financial backers of Suffolk Downs. Wetmore served as the inaugural treasurer of Eastern Racing Association, the corporation that owned Suffolk Downs. Baseball Commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his ...

did not want any ties between baseball and horse racing and on December 31, 1935, Adams, Wetmore, and the other shareholders of the Boston National League Baseball Company voted to dissolve the corporation and allow Bob Quinn to take over the franchise. Wetmore stated that he took "a $75,000 bath in the old Braves investment". On February 19, 1944, Wetmore and Adams sold controlling interest in the Eastern Racing Association to a group headed by Gordon B. Hanlon. Wetmore left the ERA on March 5, 1945, citing ill health. Wetmore also owned a horse racing stable and was a yacht racer.

Personal life and death

In 1920, Wetmore was an alleged target of extortion by

Daniel H. Coakley Daniel Henry Coakley (December 10, 1865 – September 18, 1952) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and attorney from Massachusetts. He was a key figure in early 20th century Boston politics, as an ally Distri ...

and William J. Corcoran. According to Wetmore's attorney, David Stoneman, Corcoran accused Wetmore of defrauding his first wife in their divorce and told Stoneman that if Wetmore did not pay $100,000 to have the case settled, Coakley would arrange to have Suffolk County District Attorney Joseph C. Pelletier present the case to a grand jury. Wetmore refused to pay and Wetmore and Stoneman were called to testify during Coakley and Corcoran's 1924 extortion trial. Wetmore died on April 11, 1953, at

Faulkner Hospital Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital (BWFH) is a 171-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1900, it is located in the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain across the street from the Arnold Arboretum ...

. He was survived by his wife and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetmore, Bruce 1875 births 1953 deaths Boston Braves owners Businesspeople from Boston Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Queens County, New Brunswick Suffolk Downs executives