Jerry Garland Spann (August 13, 1912 – January 5, 1968) was an American

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

administrator and businessman. He served as president of the

United States Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, the World Chess Federation. US Chess administers the official national rating s ...

(USCF) from 1957 to 1960 and also served as a vice-president of

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

. He is credited with saving the USCF from bankruptcy. The Jerry Spann Memorial Tournament is held in Oklahoma each year in his honor.

Early life

Spann was born on August 13, 1912, in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He attended college at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, graduating in 1933. He participated in track and field as well as football. It was at this time he met and became a life-long friend of

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

. He chose USC over the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

because OU did not offer football scholarships in those early days and Jerry desired to receive a scholarship. He played blocking back for the All-American halfback

Erny Pinckert William Ernest Pinckert (May 1, 1907 – August 30, 1977) was an American football halfback. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) under head coach Howard Jones. Pinckert played professionally in the National ...

. His team won the

1932 Rose Bowl The 1932 Rose Bowl was the 18th Rose Bowl game, an American post-season college football game that was played on New Year's Day 1932 in Pasadena, California. It featured the Tulane Green Wave against the USC Trojans. The Trojans had six All-Americ ...

game against

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

when Spann assisted Pinckert with blocks that allowed USC to pull off a pair of double reverses that produced

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

runs. Spann was on the USC team when they won the

1930 Rose Bowl The 1930 Rose Bowl was the 16th Rose Bowl game, an American post-season college football game that was played on New Year's Day 1930 in Pasadena, California. It featured the Pittsburgh Panthers against the USC Trojans.University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Later years

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served as a Navy officer reaching the rank of

Lt. Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer military rank, rank in many navy, navies. The rank is superior (hierarchy), superior to a l ...

in the aviation branch. He met his wife Alice, who died in 2011, while serving in the Navy. Born to the couple were four daughters: Toni Spann Fuller, Jeri Spann, Susan Spann, and Cathy Spann. After the war, he relocated to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

to open what would soon become a prosperous building supply firm named Bissell Builders Supply. He expanded the business by opening stores in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, where he had his residence, as well as

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. The firm specialized with their patented

revolving door A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they, acting as an airlock, prevent drafts, thus de ...

, many of which were sold to hotels and large office buildings.

Work as chess administrator

Spann's successful promotion of the 1956

U.S. Open Chess Championship The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since . History The tournament was originally the championship of the Western Chess Association, and was called the Western Open. I ...

, held in downtown Oklahoma City, led to his appointment as chairman of the USCF Presidency Nominating Committee. When ten of the eleven people nominated withdrew, Spann—as the stand-alone remaining nominee—was elected as the president of the USCF in 1957, a post he held until 1960. He also served as a

vice-president around this same time period. While at the helm as the USCF president, Spann managed to bring financial solvency back to the struggling chess organization. During his time with the USCF, membership numbers soared by more than 10,000 new members.

Death and legacy

The late Oklahoma chess organizer and player, Frank K. Berry, said of Spann: "All Oklahomans, Americans and people around the world who met him and played in his tournaments will never forget how generous, friendly, encouraging and kind he was." International Master George Koltanowski said of Spann: "He was the heart and soul of American chess." Spann died of cancer, aged 55, on January 5, 1968, and to this day the Oklahoma Open (state championship for Oklahoma residents) proudly bears his name in memorial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spann, Jerry Chess administrators 1912 births 1968 deaths