Joe Hand Sr., the esteemed founder and chairman of Joe Hand Promotions, the largest distributor of premium sports and entertainment programming to commercial establishments, passed away on Thursday, August 1, at the age of 87. Senior, as he was known throughout the industry, had been hospitalized since July 25 after contracting COVID-19.
Joe Hand Sr., is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted last year into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame for his roles as a boxing promoter and a pioneer in the pay-per-view business.
Senior led an extraordinary life and career, beginning as a dedicated police officer for the city of Philadelphia. In the late 1960s, he became involved with a group of businessmen in Philadelphia who were forming Cloverlay, an organization dedicated to managing the boxing career of young heavyweight and Olympic gold medalist Joe Frazier. As a founding member of Cloverlay, Senior played a crucial role in guiding Frazier to the pinnacle of his career, including his historic victory over Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971, a fight still celebrated as one of the greatest in boxing history.
In his late 30s, while continuing his duties as a police officer, Senior managed Cloverlay and invested in Joe Frazier’s career. Leveraging his experience in the boxing business, he went on to establish Joe Hand Promotions. First through closed-circuit and later on cable, satellite, and streaming, the company grew to become the largest commercial distributor of pay-per-view programming globally. Under his leadership, Joe Hand Promotions has distributed nearly every boxing match of significance over the last 50 years and has been the exclusive partner of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for nearly 25 years.
Joe Hand Promotions, headquartered just outside of Philadelphia in Feasterville, Pa., has been in business for 54 years and employs more than 50 people. Senior remained actively involved in the company until about three weeks ago when his health declined due to COVID-19.
Memorial service details and other arrangements are pending and will be announced soon. Senior is survived by his son, Joe Hand Jr., the President of Joe Hand Promotions, his daughter, Margaret Hand Cicalese, and his sister and co-founder, Patricia Hand.
