FITZSIMMONS, James Edward ("Sunny Jim")

(b. 23 July 1874 in Brooklyn, New York; d. 11 March 1966 in Miami, Florida), Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who trained some of the top horses from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Fitzsimmons was born in Sheepshead Bay, in south Brooklyn, on land that later became the site of a horse racing track. His father was George Fitzsimmons, a farmer, and his mother was Catherine (Murphy) Fitzsimmons. His education consisted of occasional attendance at a one-room school.

Young Fitzsimmons got his first look at a horse racing track when the old Sheepshead Bay oval was constructed around his family's homestead, and its inaugural race took place on 19 June 1880. It did not take him long to realize he could make more money stopping at the stables in the morning than he could by continuing through them on his way to school. He got his first steady racetrack job at age eleven as an errand boy for the Dweyer Brothers stable. It is purely coincidental that he later trained nine winners of the Dweyer Stakes.

In 1889, at the age of sixteen, Fitzsimmons began a short and unsuccessful career as a jockey. He worked as a jockey until 1901, when he switched to training. His own description of his skill as a jockey—"pretty mediocre"—explains why. He told this story to illustrate his point. "I was riding at Guttenberg [New Jersey] when they first held night racing under the lights. I hadn't had a winner in some time. When I got a chance to win one I was halfway down the stretch when I saw something coming at me and I went to a drive. I needed that winner. When we pulled up, I found out we had won by ten lengths. The other horse was my shadow chasing me. I know enough to outride my shadow." His last mount as a journeyman jockey was Agnes D., who ran fifth of five in the Tidal Stakes at Sheepshead Bay in 1901. A few races later the same horse became his first winner as a trainer.

Always a family man, Fitzsimmons married Jenny Harvey in June 1891; they eventually had five sons and one daughter. He became known as Mr. Fitz by everyone in racing and nicknamed Sunny Jim for his wonderful disposition and cheerful outlook on life and work. "My grandfather always had a good word for anybody who approached him, whether from the top or bottom of the racing fraternity," his grandson John J. Fitzsimmons, also a trainer, wrote. "He loved the fans—the $2 bettors—and always spoke out in their behalf."

His grandson also said that it was his grandfather's love of the sport that made him such a great trainer and person. "How my grandfather loved racing! The people, the horses, the loser, the winner, everything about it. I'm surprised he didn't live to be 200, the way he always looked forward to next year and the new crop of two-year-olds. Any time anything got him down, he would always look forward to the new crop coming up."

Fitzsimmons had an instinctive feel for horses. In 1923 he got the break that launched his career with high-class horses. At that time, he took on the horses of the Belair Stud, owned by William Woodward. These included Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and his son Omaha. Fitzsimmons trained horses for this stable until it closed in 1955. Later that decade, he took over the horses of the Wheatley Stable, owned by Ogden Mills and Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps. This association lasted until his retirement in 1963.

Fitzsimmons had many great qualities as a trainer, including the ability to bring a horse to a big race in peak condition. One of his many career high points came in the summer of 1955. After his horse Nashua lost to Swaps in the Kentucky Derby, a match race was arranged between the two horses at Chicago's Washington Park. Nashua defeated Swaps by over six lengths and became the leading money-winner by taking both the Preakness (in Pimlico, Maryland) and Belmont Stakes (in Belmont Park, New York).

For Belair, Fitzsimmons trained Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935; Horses of the Year Granville in 1936 and Nashua in 1955; and champions Vagrancy, champion three-year-old and Handicap Mare of 1942, Faireno, and Happy Gal. For Mrs. Phipps he trained 1957 Horse of the Year Bold Ruler (sire of Secretariat) and champions High Voltage, champion two-year-old Filly of 1952; Misty Morn, champion three-year-old and Handicap Mare in 1955; and Castle Forbes, Diabolo, and Dice. Other fine Thorough-breds he developed were Dark Secret, Seabiscuit, Johnstown, Fenelon, and Busanda. He trained winners of six Belmonts, four Preaknesses, three Kentucky Derbys, five Suburbans, eight Wood Memorials, ten Saratoga Cups, seven Jockey Club Gold Cups, eight Alabamas, eight Lawrence Realizations, and nine Dweyer Stakes.

In assessing the relative gifts of the horses he trained, Fitzsimmons said, "It is difficult to select a best horse from so many fine ones, but I would lean toward Gallant Fox. He never went to the track without doing his best."

After leading all other trainers in winnings in 1936, 1939, and 1955, Fitzsimmons was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1958 and later became the first president of the HBPAF (now the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association). Over his more than seventy years in racing Fitzsimmons trained 2,428 winners and five times (in 1930, 1932, 1936, 1939, and 1955) was the leading money-winning trainer. Active until he was almost ninety, he retired in 1963 and lived in the Miami area, continuing to visit the track almost daily up to the week of his death at age ninety-one.

Fitzsimmons died on 11 March 1966 in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Miami, a long way from the little cottage in Brooklyn where he was born. "His heart just gave out," said his son John, for many years his father's chief assistant, along with his brother Jimmy. Fitzsimmons is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Within the sport of racing, Fitzsimmons's fame was global. Horsemen and -women from Europe, South America, and elsewhere made it a point to meet him when they visited a track where he was training. In his sixth-grade handwriting it was difficult for him to sign autographs, but he tried to oblige the fans. Neophytes enjoying their first day at the races asked the more knowledgeable fans, "Which one is Sunny Jim?"

For further information see Jimmy Breslin, Sunny Jim (1962), the Lincoln Library of Sports Champions 4 (1974), and the National Turf Writers Association, Members in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.). Bloodhorse magazine is a good source of articles about Fitzsimmons, especially "James Edward Fitzsimmons" (Mar. 1966). See also John J. Fitzsimmons, "Grandfather," in Horseman's Journal (Feb. 1976). An obituary is in the New York Times (12 Mar. 1966).

Joan Goodbody