HERTZ

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 10:28:18 :

Independent Journal
Thursday, November 30, 1967
Page 4

Sportsman Hertz Dies At Age 84

Funeral for Douglas Grant Hertz, 84, world sports figure, owner of the Atherton Club in Novato and former owner of the Bolema Club in West Marin, will be at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Redwood Chapel Funeral Home in Novato.

Hertz died of a heart attack Tuesday at a local hospital.

In his colorful lifetime, Hertz survived the sinking of the Lusitania, managed heavyweight boxers, owned a professional football club and was an avid horseman.

He was born in Sutton, England, and served in the British Cavalry as a lieutenant in the Boer War. He was stationed in India at the outbreak of World War I and was on the Lusitania when it was sunk, May 7, 1915, with the loss of 1,000 lives. He was rescued 18 hours after the sinking.

Hertz moved to this country in 1920. He founded a polo club in Rockleigh, N.J., and owned the New York Yankees professional football team in the American Football League from 1936 to 1941.

He managed boxers Jack Johnson and Jersey Joe Walcott, before the latter won the heavyweight title.

He kept a stable of several hundred horses in the heart of Manhattan for several years.

Hertz came to California in 1953 and founded the Bolema Club, a hunting and fishing preserve, on 1,120 acres. It was later purchased by the federal government for $1,350,000 to become part of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Hertz claimed that he introduced dog racing to the United States when he founded a racing club on Staten Island. He also claimed to have introduced the Cornish game hen to hunters and at one time was a partner in a business to raise them in the East Bay.

After selling the Bolema Club he founded the Atherton club, the Atherton School of Riding and the Atherton Land and Development Co. He listed his occupation as a consultant in land and recreation development.

He is survived by his wife, Jean, at home, 546 Atherton Avenue, Novato, and one sister in England.

Hertz was a member of the Black Point Improvement Club and the Novato Horsemen’s Association.

Private interment will be at Marin Memorial Gardens in Novato. The family prefers contributions to the Marin County Heart Association.