Vincent James McMahon was born on July 6, 1914, in Harlem, New York[1] to Rose (née Davis) and Roderick James "Jess" McMahon,[2] a successful boxing, wrestling and concert promoter, who had worked with legendary Madison Square Garden promoter Tex Rickard.

McMahon saw the tremendous potential for growth that the professional wrestling industry had in the era following World War II, especially with the development of television and its need for new programming.

Similar to boxing, wrestling took place primarily within a small ring and could be covered adequately by one or two cameras, and venues for it could readily be assembled in television studios, lessening production costs.

[5] Unlike his son, McMahon believed that the job of a promoter should be kept backstage or behind the scenes and should never interfere with the action in the ring.

He rehired Hogan as his top star and avidly supported wrestlers branching out into other fields, as well as cross-promotions with various musicians, actors, and other personalities outside of wrestling.

"[6] The younger McMahon's competitive tactics were successful, and the WWF quickly became the most prominent exponent of "sports entertainment".

His son Vince has been at the helm of the McMahon family promotion, which since 2002 has been called World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).