o
Profile of ill
on
Heineken's was a new item on the
American market. The sale of one
case of beer was a major event. "The
phenomenal growth of the position
of Heineken's in the United States
under
the
leadership of Mr.
Van
X
HEN you see James Paul Con
nelly strut along the boulevards,
you just know that Jimmy is a man
with a purpose. Of athletic build, (6
feet and 160 pounds) he turned gray
at twenty which gave him a digni
fied appearance. But his healthy com
plexion bespeaks his vigor. He moves
confidence, often
Munching is a tribute to both the
quality of the beer and the manner
in which it was handled in the Amer
ican market," Jimmy testifies breath
lessly. "When we started, German
and Czecho-Slovakian beer domina-
ted the imported beer market. Today
Heineken's
is
the
major imported
about
with
beer with its turnover of hundreds of
easy
smiling like a pitcher who has just
struck out the last man in the 9th
inning.
His supreme confidence was partly
inherited from his Scotch-Irish fam
ily and partly acquired through fif
teen years of rewarding association
with Heineken's. At 39 he is a Hein
eken's Veteran but his future still
seems to be ahead of him.
Readers of THE WINDMILL, of
course, know that he is the success-
cases
a
year. For
the
first
seven
months of 1949 our national sales
were well over 30% ahead of 1948,"
Jimmy concludes.
As
he
sees
it, the
New
York
World's Fair in 1939 and 1940 gave
a tremendous boost to Heineken's po
sition
in
the
United States.
The
JAMES PAUL CONNELLY
Today Heineken is the major
imported beer
quaint Dutch village, "Heineken's
aan de Zuider Zee," attracted millions
of visitors. It featured a windmill, a
canal and a real Dutch fishing boat.
It was conceived by Mr. Van Munch-
ful sales manager of the Van Munch- Jimmy was coached in rowing by his ancJ built along his specifications.
ing Co.
father from the time he was consid- Naturally, Holland's best beer was
ered to be a man, which in the Con-
sold
there
exclusively, introducing
AMES Paul Connelly was born on nelly clan is the age of twelve. Row- Americans to it on a large scale. The
Auguist
12,
1910,
in Glasgow, ing training must have given Mr. war halted the great American switch
Scotland, a distinction he shares with Connelly the competitive spirit he to Heineken's, but only temporarily.
another .300 batter, Bobby Thomp- now uses to great advantage for Hein- Soon Mr. van Munching arranged
son, centerfielder for the New York eken's. He never settles for second with the management of the Heine-
Giants, the only foreign-born major
league player. Connelly, of course, is
an Irish name and Jimmy explains
but does not apologize for his Scot
tish background by saying;
place.
After finishing his studies
en-
"I
am
pretty sure that one of my ancestors
must have been chased out of Ire
land."
After finishing
high
school
he
gineering at New York University,
he took a quick look around and dis
covered the great depression in the
construction and building business.
Rather than wait for the tide to turn,
he decided to make a clean break and
plunge into the beer business. He
ken's Breweries in Soerabaja, Java,
further importations of Heineken's
Beer from 6,000 miles away. This
has kept Heineken's available in the
United States. The war over and the
Breweries intact Heineken's started to
flow again from the venerable brew
ing vats in Rotterdam, Holland.
spent three years at New York Uni- came up smiling. In 1935 he hooked
versity, where he was a member of up with Austin Nichols and Van
Delta Phi Fraternity. Like so many Munching. Except for war service,
Heineken's alumni, he was outstand- he hasn't left the Baron since. From
ing in sports during his school years. 1943 to 1946 he went island hop-
In 1932 he captured the Metropoli- ping with the Seabees in the Ameri-
FTER fifteen years of fermenta
tion with Heineken's, the light
of enthusiasm and increasing wonder
has never vanished from Mr. Con
nelly's eyes;
"I
am
constantly
tan
Championship
for
the
singl
can offensive against Japan. He got
shell. The time? "I forgot this be- as far as Guam where he helped build
cause time does not mean too much the U.
in rowing, what with weather and
military bases there.
water conditions. The main thing
is to come in first. First,all the
OOKING back at it now, Jimmy
can hardly believe the Heineken's
timethere is no prize for second." success story. In the mid thirties,
amazed at the phenomenon of in
crease in sales of Heineken's beer in
a receding market. The market seems
to have tightened up for domestic
beers during the last few months.
Yet our much more expensive Hein
eken's generally sold at the bars at
50c a bottle as against 25c for do-
Continued page 3, col. 1)
mmmmm
