The Open Outcry Traders History Project is a pioneering documentary initiative dedicated to preserving the stories of traders who worked on the physical trading floors before electronic trading transformed the financial landscape.

Inspired by President Bill Clinton’s Veterans History Project, this series captures the oral histories of the last generation of open outcry traders—professionals who conducted complex financial transactions through face-to-face communication, hand signals, and intense personal interactions.

As traditional trading floors rapidly disappear, becoming relics of financial history, this project serves as a critical archive, ensuring that the unique culture, challenges, personalities, and unwritten rules of floor trading are not lost to time.

Through in-depth interviews, the project documents not just the technical aspects of trading, but the human drama, camaraderie, and extraordinary personal narratives of the traders who were at the heart of global financial markets during a transformative period of economic history.

Tony Saliba started out of college in 1977 as a registered rep in Indiana, moved to the CBOE floor by 1979, and became one of the most disciplined options market makers of his generation. In this Open Outcry Traders History Project interview with John Lothian News, Saliba recalls buying his first CBOE seat for about $35,000, training more than 7,000 professionals through International Trading Institute, and running more than 20 traders on his badge at once. He tells the story of nearly blowing out in Teledyne, finding his rhythm in the Boeing crowd, and turning the 1987 crash into a career-defining day with butterflies and long-wing "explosion" spreads. He remembers Buffalo Bob McCormick, Mad Dog Kornelak, Bob Belden and the CBOE curb trade, then his second act closing pits from Frankfurt's DTB to Madrid, Vienna, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney's ASX in 1997. 27:49
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Tony Saliba: From CBOE Rookie to Options Market Wizard

In this installment of the Open Outcry Traders History Project, former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Chairman Pat Arbor sits down with John Lothian News to share his journey from high school math teacher to leading one of the world's premier futures exchanges. Arbor’s career in the futures industry began when he answered a blind newspaper ad for Ullmann Grain on the 14th floor of the Board of Trade in the early 1960s. After an initial stint on the floor, early trading losses left him $14,000 in debt to Shatkin Trading. Determined to pay back his debts, Arbor sold his membership and took on a series of non-financial jobs—including selling furniture at JC Penney and working as a "rod buster" ironworker tying rebar on Chicago skyscrapers. Looking across the city skyline from top of a telephone building at Harrison and Federal, Arbor realized his true calling was back at the Board of Trade. With financial backing from Bernie Feinberg and Henry Shatkin, he bought back his CBOT seat for $31,000 in July 1970. Shortly after returning, Arbor caught the massive 1970 Southern Corn Leaf Blight bull market, paying off his debts in less than two weeks and cementing his place on the floor. In this interview, Arbor reflects on: Floor Culture & Self-Policing: How open outcry pits functioned as crucibles for honesty, integrity, camaraderie, and meritocracy. Historic Market Events: Navigating the 1967 Six-Day War, the Nixon gold shock, the launch of Ginnie Mae futures with Dr. Richard Sandor, and the 1987 Stock Market Crash (Black Monday). The 1987 Crash: Why Arbor fought to keep the CBOT markets open when other exchanges were closing, and how trader Blair Hull bought the bottom of the market. CBOT Expansion: Championing the vote and construction for CBOT’s expanded trading floor, expanding membership categories (associate, COM, and options memberships), and managing competition with Eurex and the CME. Trading Wisdom: Why spread trading proved more sustainable than scalping, and the role of personal discipline on the trading floor. About the Open Outcry Traders History Project: The Open Outcry Traders History Project is an archival initiative by John Lothian News and MarketsWiki Education dedicated to preserving the personal stories, market history, and institutional knowledge of open outcry floor trading. 31:17
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From Ironworker to CBOT Chairman: Pat Arbor’s Open Outcry Story

In this featured interview for the Open Outcry Traders History Project, legendary futures pioneer and longtime Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) leader Leo Melamed sits down with John Lothian News to share stories from his decades on the trading floor. Melamed recounts his start as a law student answering a Sunday newspaper ad for a runner job at Merrill Lynch, which introduced him to the CME trading floor. Seeing potential in the young exchange, Melamed’s father lent him $3,000 from his $5,000 savings to purchase a CME seat at a time when the exchange was actively supporting seat prices. In this candid reflection, Melamed discusses: Floor Life & Physical Demands: Experiencing permanent hearing loss in his left ear from loud shouters in the pork belly pit and balancing long floor hours with family life. Trading Strategy & Technical Analysis: Developing a system combining 60% charting and 40% fundamentals, quoting Bernard Baruch on bear markets, and explaining why the public rarely understands how to profit from going short. Going Broke Three Times: Facing early devastating losses in eggs, pork bellies, and cornered markets—culminating on September 13, 1969, when he searched floor sweepings after the close to retrieve and frame that day's calendar slip as a permanent reminder never to go broke again. Market Stories & War Anecdotes: Getting caught short Swiss francs during the 1970s oil embargo, trading Maine potatoes in New York, and a memorable moment during the 1967 Six-Day War when trader Morlan King ran into a surging pork belly pit yelling, "You guys are nuts, neither the Arabs nor the Jews eat pork!" Managing Risk & Del Sur Investment: Dealing with a trader at his firm, Del Sur Investment Company, who got "married" to a British pound position and lost $3 million before the 2:00 PM clearing cutoff. Floor Integrity & Exchange Leadership: The sacred "our word was our bond" code among floor traders, and eventually moving to a 5th-floor executive office around 1981–1982 to serve as CME Chairman while maintaining his trading operation. About the Open Outcry Traders History Project: The Open Outcry Traders History Project is a historical archive created by John Lothian News and MarketsWiki Education to record and preserve the firsthand experiences of traders who shaped the physical open outcry trading floors. 13:44
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Going Broke 3 Times to CME Pioneer: Leo Melamed’s Open Outcry Story

In this episode of the Open Outcry Traders History Project, former S&P 500 pit trader turned filmmaker Jordan Melamed sits down with John Lothian News to share his experiences trading in the wild Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) pits during the 1980s. The son of former CME Chairman Leo Melamed, Jordan grew up immersed in futures lore. After attending law school at his father's insistence, he entered the S&P 500 futures pit during its wild expansion years (1982–1988). Despite facing constant razzing from fellow traders because of his famous father, Jordan quickly proved himself in the chaotic physical environment of the pit. In this interview, Jordan reflects on: The Physicality of the S&P Pit: Standing shoulder-to-shoulder in "waves of humanity," dealing with physical battles, and the intense adrenaline rush of trading under pressure. Early Setbacks & Hard Lessons: Making over $100,000 his first year, losing it all, and working as an order filler to pay back his debts and rebuild his trading discipline. Trading Strategy & Style: Applying lessons from his father and Edwin Lefèvre’s Reminiscences of a Stock Operator to press winners, pyramid positions quickly, and strictly limit losses. Milestone Day & The 1987 Crash: Making $500,000 shorting S&P futures on his 30th birthday, surviving the dark atmosphere of the 1987 Stock Market Crash, and profiting the next day with a fundamental long position in Eurodollar futures. Transition to Filmmaking: Leaving the pit in the late 1980s to trade multi-market positions upstairs before pursuing film school and directing feature films inspired by floor trading. Floor Culture & Life Lessons: Pit camaraderie, generosity toward bankrupt peers, money management traps, and learning to stand up for oneself on the trading floor. About the Open Outcry Traders History Project: The Open Outcry Traders History Project is an archival video series created by John Lothian News and MarketsWiki Education to document the personal stories and legacy of open outcry floor traders. 15:09
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Trading in the S&P Pit & Pursuing Hollywood: Jordan Melamed’s Story

Jake Morowitz sat for an interview for the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 21:57
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Jacob Morowitz – Open Outcry Traders History Project

Jeff Carter is a Chicago-based trader and venture capital executive and long time member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he formerly served on their board of directors. He is currently a manager with West Loop Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund. He sat for an interview with John Lothian News for the Open Outcry Traders History Project and has encouraged other current and former traders to do the same. Carter is a co-founder of HydeParkAngels.com, an angel investor network in the U.S. Midwest. He was a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and traded his own account for 24 years. He is the author of the Points and Figures blog, which he calls "An irreverent Look at Economics, Finance, Trading and Politics. 28:09
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Jeff Carter - Open Outcry Traders History Project

Ed Ryan sat for an interview with John Lothian News for the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders interview. He was a city kid who had a friend down the street who worked at the Chicago Board of Trade. A chance meeting with his friend brought in invitation to lunch at the CBOT. He started as a runner, like so many others. He started with an IDEM membership trading night bonds. He traded at the CBOT for nearly 10 years as a small trader. Today, he works for Advantage Futures in managed futures. 26:36
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Ed Ryan - Open Outcry Traders History Project

Alan Palmer sat down for an interview with John Lothian News as part of the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 15:34
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Alan Palmer: Open Outcry Traders History Project

Lee Tenzer is a giant of the markets and a member of the inaugural class of the Crowd of Fame by the Options Industry Council. He formed LETCO and had as many as 75 traders at one time. His first clerk was Jon Najarian and he later hired Don Wilson after he graduated from the University of Chicago. Today, he runs his family office, whose holdings include Lake Geneva Canopy Tours. 14:14
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Lee Tenzer: Open Outcry Traders History Project

Open Outcry Traders History Project Interview with Veteran Singapore Trader Conducted by Robert Lothian During FIA Asia Week Leonard Kok came from a humble background, with working parents, and thought he might be a policeman when he grew up. However, when he went into the Army for his national service, he read that the highest paid people were not doctors or lawyers, but traders. Kok decided he wanted to become a trader. He was captivated by the idea and after 2 ½ years of national service, where he was a lieutenant, he began looking for a job as a trader. However, he discovered he lacked a key requirement: experience. After learning that many traders start as brokers or even runners on the trading floor, Kok decided to become a broker. One month after his service was done, he joined a brokerage firm. Kok said his best days as a pit trader were during the summer of 1994. He was a reasonably large trader by then, he said. He was seeing gains of multiple millions of Singapore dollars on some days that summer, though he had some losing days of multiple millions too. He said his worst day was not the day he lost the most money, but rather the day he had the most fear. Kok had a short position in Nikkei put options and the Barings Bank crisis began on a Friday when Barings executive Nick Leeson disappeared. Kok and his wife feared they might lose all they had, but when the market opened on Monday, it was not down as much as he had feared. His trading style changed over time as he moved from open outcry trading to electronic trading, Kok said. The first half of his career he was a directional trader, holding positions for weeks or months. When the markets moved electronically, he changed his style, as he was not as connected to the markets. The information advantage in open outcry trading disappeared with electronic trading, so Kok changed his trading style to more arbitrage trading. He would still trade directionally when he saw a big move coming, once or twice a year. The noise of the market was an important input to Kok's trading, he said. He was among the first of the floor traders to make the transition to electronic trading at the SIMEX. He said he was influenced by the success of Eurex. He would start his day pit trading and then move to trading electronically at Eurex later in the day. His most memorable day was shorting a market during Tokyo hours as the market was rallying. He and others in the pit were holding short Nikkei futures positions and they were counting their losses as the market was ticking up. But then a trader came into the pit and someone bid lower and the trader sold. Another trader bid lower and this trader sold. Then the news broke that Iraq had invaded Kuwait and the market broke sharply. Kok said this was where these traders made their first pot of gold because the market dropped drastically. Kok said the most common illegal practice he saw was traders not honoring their trades. He would take precautions as a result. He said sometimes he was careful to double confirm trades and make sure the pit surveillance cameras saw the confirmation of the trades, in order to avoid a trader not honoring a trade. Kok is passionate about trading and says it is his whole being. However, he says it is now like a hobby, like golf, and he likes the low stress of being able to pick and choose when to trade. The advice he would give someone new coming into the markets is to find a good firm, get paid and learn from them. The opportunity cost is higher today than when he came into the markets, he said. 16:29
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Leonard Kok's Journey: From Humble Beginnings to Trading Success

20:18
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Jack Sandner: Open Outcry Traders History Project Part 1

18:09
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Jack Sandner: Open Outcry Traders History Project Part 2

Tom Zegara is a former member of the Cboe and the Chicago Board of Trade. He started at the Cboe is the 1970s and was a broker and market-maker. He sat for an interview for the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project and told his story with great enthusiasm. 29:51
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Tom Zagara: Open Outcry Traders History Project Part 1

Tom Zagara has lots of great stories to tell from his time as a trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. There were so many, we broke his interview into two parts. In Part 2 of his interview for the Open Outcry Traders History Project, Zagara tells the tale of the drug bust on the CBOE trading floor and how the runners and clerks on the floor dumped their drugs into the garbage cans and then dove in to retrieve them when the FBI had left. He talks about how he and other traders would protect brokers and eat bad trades when necessary to be on the brokers’ good side when orders came to the trading pit. Zagara almost went bankrupt twice, but learned his lesson. Sometimes he learned it the hard way. This is part two of a two part interview Tom did with John Lothian News for the Open Outcry Traders History Project. 27:10
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Tom Zagara: Open Outcry Traders History Project - Part 2

Dan Stern sat down for an interview with John Lothian News as part of the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 13:54
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Dan Stern: Open Outcry Traders History Project

Gary Sagui sat down for an interview with John Lothian News as part of the Open Outcry Traders History Project. 20:17
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Gary Sagui: Open Outcry Traders History Project

Bill Dudley sat down for an interview with John Lothian News as part of the Open Outcry Traders History Project. 22:12
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Bill Dudley: Open Outcry Traders History Project

May 16, 2024 — In an interview for the Open Outcry Traders History Project, veteran trader George Hanley recounted the rich history of his family's involvement with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The interview, part one of three parts conducted by John Lothian News for the MarketsWiki Education video series, explored the Hanley family's deep-rooted connections to the trading world, dating back to the early 20th century. A Family Legacy Hanley began by sharing how his old West Side Irish family first got involved with the CBOT. His grandmother, who enjoyed betting on horse races, met Bill Griffin, a trader at the Board of Trade, in the early 1910s. Griffin, who owned Griffin Grain, would often pass by their apartment on Ferdinand Street on his way to the Lake Street elevated train. Hanley's grandmother would give her bets to Griffin, who would place them with bookies at the exchange. The Start of a Trading Dynasty In 1923, at the age of 18, Hanley's father Tom began working as a runner at Griffin Grain. This marked the beginning of the Hanley family's long-standing association with the CBOT. Tom Hanley used to run down LaSalle Street and up the stairs to the third floor to deliver orders to the pit, Hanley recalled. Overcoming Challenges Tom Hanley faced numerous challenges throughout his career. He became a member of the CBOT in the 1930s and worked for various firms before buying his own membership in 1945. He traded in several pits, including the rye and wheat pits, and eventually became an independent broker and a top step broker in the soybean pit. "He transferred his seat to my older brother, Tommy Hanley, in 1980," George Hanley noted. A Personal Journey George Hanley himself grew up immersed in the trading environment, frequently visiting the exchange from a young age. By eighth grade, he had decided to become a trader. However, his path was not without obstacles. After graduating from college, he faced several setbacks, going broke three times before finding success. "I proceeded to go broke three times and I was devastated, one of the most humiliating periods in my life," he admitted. These experiences taught him valuable lessons in humility and perseverance. After George Hanley failed as a trader, his father helped him get a job as a trade checker in the meats at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Hanley wanted to return to college at Dayton for homecoming, so he called in sick on a Friday. He shared his plans with a coworker, who then informed his boss. The boss called Hanley into the office on Monday and, despite acknowledging his competence, fired him on principle. Hanley stayed to train his replacement, then asked his dad, "What do I do now?" His dad helped him get a job as a runner. Within months, Hanley's career had regressed from trader to trade checker to runner. Hanley recalled going broke three times while speculating in the soybean markets. His mother and grandfather recapitalized him twice before his father decided to sell his MidAmerica Exchange seat. At that point, George Hanley's brother Tom lent him $1,000 and, more importantly, taught him how to trade soybean spreads. Within 14 months of his first winning trade, which earned him $5, Hanley was clearing his own trades at the MidAm, taking delivery of grain, and storing the receipts in his safety deposit box at Continental Bank. Hanley also became the largest volume trader at the MidAm, he said. Hanley fondly remembered those heady days of MidAm trading, the traders who became great, and his admiration for the pure speculators. 00:00:00 - Introduction and Family's Involvement with CBOT 00:03:01 - Father's Stories from the Exchange 00:04:23 - Father's Membership and Trading Pits 00:06:39 - Personal Involvement with the Exchange 00:07:38 - Experiences of Going Broke 00:09:46 - Recovery and Success at Mid-America Exchange 00:11:27 - Reflections on Other Traders 13:03
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Veteran Trader George Hanley Shares Family's Legacy in Open Outcry Traders History Project Interview

The CEO of tastytrade, Tom Sosnoff, was interviewed by John Lothian News for the Open Outcry Traders History Project. Sosnoff was a trader on the floor of the CBOE for 20 years after growing up in New York. He moved to Chicago at the behest of some co-workers at his first job at Drexel Lambert who wanted to start a fund and wanted Sosnoff to execute the trades on the CBOE floor for them. Sosnoff leveraged his experience on the floor into other ventures, some of which worked and some of which did not. Those ventures have included Thinkorswim and tastytrade. The second part of his interview for the Open Outcry Traders History Project told the stories of Sosnoff’s days after he left the CBOE trading floor. Here is the first part of his interview, which talks about his floor trading days. This has been a John Lothian News report. Please visit us on JohnLothianNews.com. The video has been reported by John Lothian and edited and produced by Patrick Lothian. Follow John Lothian News on twitter: @JohnLothian @MarketsWiki @JohnLothianNews @MarketsReformWiki @JLNOptions @JLNEnviroEnergy @JLNMF @JLNFinancials 12:07
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Tom Sosnoff - Open Outcry Traders History Project

Dan Keegan is a former trader on the CBOE. He started as a runner with AG Becker, who had very ugly plaid trading jackets. Keegan always leased seats and was happier to pay more rather than less, because more meant there was more market opportunity. His best day was the stock market crash of 1987. He sat for an interview with John Lothian News for the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 17:48
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Dan Keegan - Open Outcry Traders History Project

Jim Downs sat down for an interview with John Lothian News as part of the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 14:43
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Jim Downs: Open Outcry Traders History Project

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The Open Outcry Traders History Project is a pioneering documentary initiative dedicated to preserving the stories of traders who worked on the physical trading floors before electronic trading transformed the financial landscape.

Inspired by President Bill Clinton’s Veterans History Project, this series captures the oral histories of the last generation of open outcry traders—professionals who conducted complex financial transactions through face-to-face communication, hand signals, and intense personal interactions.

As traditional trading floors rapidly disappear, becoming relics of financial history, this project serves as a critical archive, ensuring that the unique culture, challenges, personalities, and unwritten rules of floor trading are not lost to time.

Through in-depth interviews, the project documents not just the technical aspects of trading, but the human drama, camaraderie, and extraordinary personal narratives of the traders who were at the heart of global financial markets during a transformative period of economic history.