Powell Crosley Jr. - Cincinnati, OH
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member hykesj
N 39° 10.550 W 084° 31.779
16S E 713394 N 4339195
Powell Crosley Jr. was a twentieth century inventor, radio pioneer, industrialist and namesake of Crosley Field, former home of baseball’s Cincinnati Reds.
Waymark Code: WM150V7
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/23/2021
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Alfouine
Views: 3

Powell Crosley Jr. was born in 1886 to an affluent Cincinnati family. After pursuing degrees in engineering and law, he tried his hand at entrepreneurship in automobile manufacturing. When this effort failed, he continued in the automobile industry for a while in various capacities but never achieving anything of note. In reference to these early failures, Crosley once said, “I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but it was jerked out before I could distinguish its taste from that of the common dime-store variety.”

When he was 30 years old, Crosley hit the jackpot with the purchase of an auto parts business which became very successful largely due to several innovative products developed by Crosley himself. By reinvesting his earnings back into his own business ventures, he avoided much of the economic loss due to the Great Depression. Crosley’s industries branched out into radio sets, radio broadcasting, consumer products, automobiles and even airplanes.

In 1934, Powell Crosley Jr. bought the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. In his honor, the Reds renamed their stadium “Crosley Field.” This made Crosley a household name among baseball fans across America. During World War II, Crosley’s factories were retooled to produce various war supplies and they became the leading producer of proximity fuzes in the U.S.

Either directly or indirectly, Powell Crosley Jr. is associated with a number of “firsts,” many of which became commonplace in subsequent years. These include the first use of 4-wheel disc brakes, the first car radio, shelves on refrigerator doors, first broadcast of soap operas on radio, first broadcast of a baseball game and the first night game in major league baseball. Crosley is a member of both the Radio Hall of Fame and the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Powell Crosley Jr. is laid to rest in the Crosley family plot at Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery.
(Sources: Ohio History Central, Society for American Baseball Research)
Description:
See Long Description above.


Date of birth: 09/18/1886

Date of death: 03/28/1961

Area of notoriety: Other

Marker Type: Monument

Setting: Outdoor

Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Fee required?: No

Web site: [Web Link]

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