In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

and Salmon Streets. The company would
later relocate to Cedar and Westmoreland
Streets in 1952 when Maguire purchased
the former Edgar T. Ward Steel Company
building. By this time, Maguire and Margaret
were the parents of a son, John, Jr.
It was during this time that Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Robert Lee “Bobby”
Thomason was hired as a salesman for
Steel Distributors, Inc. The six foot, one inch
Thomason was a three-time Pro-Bowler
who, in 1953, became the first Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback to pass for more than
400 yards during a game. It was not uncommon
for kids from the neighborhood
to knock on the door of the plant and ask if
Bobby could come out and throw the football
with them. He was always more than willing
to oblige. Thomason’s teammates Jack Hinkle
and Ben Kish worked for competitors in the
Philadelphia area.
In 1961, John, Jr., graduated from
Villanova University and its School of
Business. Following in his father’s footsteps,
he entered the steel industry as an inside
salesman at Steel Distributors, Inc. He later
moved to outside sales. During the Vietnam
War the federal government purchased
aluminum from Steel Distributors, Inc.
that was given to the Vietnamese to build
houses in exchange for information to aid
the United States during the war. A costly
war spanning nearly twenty years, the
Vietnam War between North Vietnam and
South Vietnam took the lives of more than
50,000 American members of the military
as the United States was an ally of
South Vietnam.
In 1976 the company was sold to Creusot-
Loire and merged with the Horace T. Potts
Company. Creusot-Loire was France’s largest
privately owned engineering conglomerate,
created by the merger of three steel and
engineering groups. The merge resulted in
the relocation to the Potts Company location
at D Street and Erie Avenue.
With the family retaining ownership of the
Steel Distributors, Inc. building and grounds,
John, Jr., was responsible for its maintenance
until the building sold. The neighborhood
kids, along with John, Jr.’s four sons, used
the vacant lot adjacent to the building as
a baseball field. To ensure the grass was
always trimmed, John, Jr., instituted a rule
that each player must make one lap with
the lawn mower before taking his turn
at bat.
John, Jr., remained with Creusot-Loire as
an outside salesman until 1982 when he
resigned to take a position with Pennsylvania
Steel Company. Just four years later, John, Jr.,
had the opportunity to purchase Industrial
Spring Steel, located at 7345 Milnor Street.
Like his father, he too owned a steel
company. His role moved from a salesman to
a sales representative. His salary now was
based on sales results. He sold Industrial
Spring Steel in 2013 to friendly competitor
Lapham-Hickey Steel, headquartered in
Chicago. John, Jr., remained with Lapham-
Hickey as a sales representative, retaining
fifteen of his accounts.
Today Industrial Spring Steel is located
at 2656 Salmon Street in Philadelphia and
continues to service companies with an
extensive steel inventory and exceptional
customer service. Stock includes cold rolled
annealed, tempered, and blue polished steel
and Industrial Spring Steel’s capabilities
include edging and cutting to the customer’s
specifications for their individual needs.
Products made possible by Industrial Spring
Steel range from blades for doctor’s scalpels
to gun mechanisms and valves. There is no
job too large or too small.
@
Opposite: Steel Distributors, Inc. rulers
were distributed to customers and vendors.
With measurements up to fourteen inches
and the original telephone exchanges and
numbers on the front; the back of the
ruler featured both decimal and
gauge equivalents.
Above: In 2013, John Maguire, Jr., (left) a
Villanova University 1961 graduate, sold
Industrial Spring Steel to Lapham-Hickey
Steel. Brian Hickey, general manager at
Lapham-Hickey, graduated from Villanova
University in 2001.
PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA
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