James Patrick O'Leary (1869 – January 22, 1925) was a gambling boss and saloon owner in Chicago. His parents were Patrick and Irish-born

Catherine O'Leary Catherine "Cate" O'Leary (née Donegan; March 1827 – July 3, 1895) was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois, who became famous when it was alleged that an accident involving her cow had started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Born Ca ...

, in whose barn the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

is alleged to have begun.

Biography

O'Leary was born at 137 DeKoven Street, the house in which his family lived and where the Great Chicago Fire would start two years later. O'Leary worked for the local bookies when he was a teenager, and eventually, he began as a bookmaker himself in

Long Beach, Indiana Long Beach is a town in Michigan Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Long Beach was 1,179. It is included in the Michigan City, Indiana- La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hi ...

, an

off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York was ...

resort. However, he soon went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

and worked at the

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

, where he gained the nickname "Big Jim." In the early 1890s, he left the Stock Yards and opened a saloon on

Halsted Street Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois. Location In Chicago's grid system, Halsted Street marks 800 West, west of State Street, from Grace Street (3800 N) in Lakeview south to the city limits at t ...

which included

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

s, a restaurant, a billiard room, and a bowling alley. He also posted detailed

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

results and other betting information near the entrance to the Stock Yards. O'Leary soon began operating a pool hall and book parlor in the rear of the saloon. He became one of the leading gamblers in Chicago and was known for taking bets on everything from presidential candidates to changes in the weather. In 1904, O'Leary began operating illegal gambling on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

aboard the steamship ''The City of Traverse''. Without police protection, this venture had failed by 1907 because of police raids each time the ship docked. O'Leary refused to bribe the police and instead had his saloon protected by adding a set of iron and zinc layered oak doors which allegedly were "fireproof, bomb-proof, and police-proof". Following Chicago crime lord

Michael Cassius McDonald Michael Cassius McDonald (1839 – August 9, 1907) was a crime boss, political boss, and businessman based out of Chicago. He is considered to have introduced organized crime to the city, and to have also established its first political machine ...

's death that year, O'Leary took over complete control of gambling on Chicago's southwest side around the

. In the summer of 1907,

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

opened with O'Leary the principal owner. The popular park operated for four years before permanently closing. O'Leary, who delivered whiskey to Colosimo's Cafe under an arrangement with

Johnny Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Syn ...

, was suspected of involvement in the May 11, 1920 murder of

James Colosimo Vincenzo Colosimo (; February 16, 1878 – May 11, 1920), known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on ...

, but no charges were brought against him. By the time of his death, O'Leary had become a millionaire several times over. Despite numerous raids by police, O'Leary was found guilty of gambling only one time during his thirty-year career. The perception was that O'Leary, along with gambling bosses Mont Tennes and "Hot Stove" Jimmy Quinn, controlled the Chicago Police. O'Leary married Annie McLaughlin, whose family lived next to the O'Learys at the time of the fire. They were the parents of two sons and three daughters. James Patrick O'Leary died in Chicago of natural causes at the age of 56 on January 23, 1925.

References

External links

Who Caused The Great Chicago Fire ? - A Possible Deathbed Confession
by Anthony DeBartolo {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, James Patrick 1869 births 1925 deaths American gamblers American gangsters of Irish descent American gangsters Gangsters from Chicago

Biography

References

Further reading

External links