He sat on the board of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, which lingered in Fair Park, in the shadow of the Cotton Bowl, until 1984, when it moved to downtown Dallas as the newly christened Dallas Museum of Art. Carter has already heard this. Next play Ill goose him. The plan was to turn the chickens loose when the dogsled hit the field. Dont worry, Dan, he said, sternly. Clint Jr.s success can be attributed largely to Schramm, a marketing genius; Landry, one of the games great coaches; and Gil Brandt, who, as director of scouting, revolutionized the way players are recruited by using newfangled technology computers long before computers were commonplace. In 1985, Murchison designed, constructed and financed a 30-acre campus-style headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys called Valley Ranch located in Irving, Texas. An unassuming, softspoken native of Tyler, Tex., Mr. Murchison (pronounced MER-kiss-un) was born Sept. 5, 1921, the son of Clint W. Murchison Sr., who made a fortune in the . Then Clint slowly lifted his cane and smilingly pointed at the front of Carters pullover shirt. Theyve got free agency, and theyre going to live and play in the NFL forever. In telling you the story, we will show you how it serves as history, comedy and tragedy, but most of all, as a rollicking read, every bit as fascinating as a Texas character named Clint Murchison Jr., the creator of your Dallas Cowboys, who fostered their own rare world beneath the hole in the roof that seized the attention of terrorists and sports fans alike. Clint Murchi-son Jr. was there-he was already desperately ill. One of Michaels most esteemed colleagues in a newspaper career spanning more than 50 years was the late Bryan Woolley, whose thousands of bylines include a moving profile of Clint Jr. Clint Sr. shipped John and Clint off to prep school. Adjusted for inflation, that amounts to roughly $2.8 million in 2020. She said he died of complications caused by pneumonia. Tex and Tom couldnt keep their areas of responsibility defined. Somebody get that gol durn Bill Glass, Reeves said in his angry Georgia drawl. Balanced history of a most interesting family, especially Sr. A motivating factor in the NFL's decision to award a license for Dallas was the establishment of the American Football League (AFL) by Lamar Hunt, another Dallas area businessman. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! A quote from the former husband sadly intoning he wishes things could have worked out better. Unable to strike a deal with city leaders to build a new stadium in downtown Dallas, Murchison selected a site in nearby Irving. The home at 23 Ash Bluff Lane is listed for $7.5 million by Lillie Young of Allie Beth Allman and Associates. His borrowing, which has been an immensely profitable business practice, has become an addiction.. She died in 1926, leaving him to raise three small sons John, Clint Jr. and Burk, who died from pneumonia when he was 11. In todays dollars, thats north of $87 million. The brothers won. J. R. crumpled to the floor with a gunshot wound in the cliffhanger episode that aired on March 21, 1980. But the most compelling contain elements of all three. Lombardes Packers beat the hell out of the Kansas City Chiefs. Murchison and McLendon remained in the shadows and allowed Murchison's long-time friend Robert F. Thompson to take credit for actual ownership while day-to-day management was vested in Swedish-Finnish businessman Jack S. Kotschack. His loyalty has spanned all three eras, from Clint Murchison to Bum Bright to Jerry Jones. John Murchison and his brother Clint Murchison Jr. were the first owners of the Dallas Cowboys. In 2022, such a sum would exceed $8.364 billion. From custody battles to death, as with Shannon Murchison, once married to Clint Murchison, III, son of the founder of the Dallas Cowboys. My son knew who Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were before they joined the Cowboys. This next part is important, because it underscores the model Clint Jr. followed with the Cowboys: Once Clint Sr. established or acquired a company, he left its operations to others, in the same way that Clint Jr. appointed Tex Schramm to be his president and general manager and Tom Landry his head coach. What most of America doesnt know is that he, too, was revolutionary. In The Murchisons: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Dynasty, author Jane Wolfe writes how Clint Jr. thrived in a milieu of intellectuals from Harvard, MIT and Wellesley. When 1 played for Tom. Please try again. The team last won it all in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 28, 1996, when the Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to capture their fifth Lombardi Trophy. At their fathers knee, Woolley wrote, Clint Jr. and John learned how to wheel and deal. Soon, Clint Sr. was sharing his idea of an education, designed to ensure enduring wealth and chisel the Murchison name into the granite of high society. Wolfe answers that question in this history of the rise and fall of Texas's Murchison family. Her second book, published in 1994, is "BLOOD RICH: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough." I was an account executive for Tracy-Locke advertising and we were handling a new Frito-Lay product called Doritos. These young kids seem to be having so much fun. Sitting there watching Tom and Michael. Dont give up. After John Murchison's death in 1979, a legal dispute over his estate led to the sale of the Cowboys to H. R. Bright, a Dallas businessman, for $60 million in 1984. He returned to Athens and worked in the bank until the outbreak of World War I, when he joined the Army. A son of Clint Murchison Sr., who made his first fortune in oil exploration and became notorious for exploiting the sale of "hot oil", Clint and his surviving brother inherited their father's wealth and business interests to which Clint Jr. added ventures of . After several unsuccessful opportunities to buy existing franchises, including the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, Murchison was awarded an NFL expansion franchise that would begin play in the 1960 season. I am interested in the Bills because Elijah Pitts is the backfield coach and Elijah went with the Packers to that first Super Bowl instead of Perkins and me. They look at guys like me as really old and not very relevant to the world. Editors note: This excerpt from Hole in the Roof: The Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr., and the Stadium That Changed American Sports Forever, by Burk Murchison and News staff writer Michael Granberry, is reprinted with permission from Texas A&M University Press. His elder son, John, won Wall Street's biggest proxy fight, developed the Vail, Colorada ski resort, and was a noted jet-setter. The Cowboys played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since their inception in 1960. He formed Southern Union Gas Company. No, he shakes his head. Exponentially. Great reading on another of the Texas legends-father and sons. He fought a rare nerve disease and died in 1987 at age 63. OK, Thomas was known for being militant and surly and Smith is a choirboy. He and Richardson drove to the site, and sure enough, smelled the black gold bubblin up. Now, they would pee on an electric fence to get Kenny to sing the national anthem. Clinton Williams "Clint" Murchison Sr. (April 11, 1895 - June 20, 1969) [1] was a noted Texas -based oil magnate and political operative. Well, thats what Landry did, 1 point out. There he teamed up with boyhood friend Richardson, who was nibbling at the edges of a scary new enterprise oil leases. Its just that in football you spend your youth so fast. : Its like that. Texas Stadium became the prototype of the 21st-century stadium, whether it hosts high school games in Katy, Texas, or serves as the $5 billion launchpad that opened in 2020 as the shared home of the Rams and Chargers. Kennedy. After all, I did it for Tex and Tom for 20 years. Fascinating. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. But Im already getting ahead of myself. And now its no secret that AT&T Stadium remains the underpinning of the Cowboys financial empire, the pandemic notwithstanding. Hole in the Roof takes you on a deep dive into the personality and passions of Clint Jr., while extending a more than passing hello to everyone else who was part of his world. Ive heard that before. This page was last edited on 27 January 2023, at 13:23. The station was not a financial success, and joined forces with the Caroline organization to become the southern station of Radio Caroline. . The huskies would go after the chickens and that would be the best halftime show ever. I stood. And in that respect alone, irony abounds, one of many we share in Hole in the Roof. In case youre wondering, Katy taxpayers paid for most of it. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Black players had to drive 15 miles to South Dallas to live. By the end of June 2021, Texas had seen almost 3 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 52,000 deaths putting it third in the nation, trailing only California and New York in deaths and only California in cases. Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. He made trades for draft choices and built a team thatll last for years, Carter says. I guess thats good. [4] Better seats required the purchase of multiple bonds with the best seats requiring the purchase of four bonds for a total of $1,000. Mr. In the early 1960s Burl pioneered home kidney dialysis treatment and in 1966 became only the 130th person in the world to undergo a live kidney transplant, a risky and unproven operation at the time. Theyll win at least three. Hes wondering the same thing I am: What the hell am I doing defending Tom Landry? Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017. Jones may not have been aware of it when he bought the Cowboys, but to his credit, he was a quick study. Clint Murchison Jr. was an entrepreneur, businessman and risk-taking founder of the successful Dallas Cowboys football franchise. They cant even figure out how guys like me ever got to be 50. Clint Jr.s risk-taking would lead him to the world of professional football and allow his team to succeed. [7] On the eve of the Dallas Cowboys' first Super Bowl he wrote to coach Tom Landry, Dear Tom: I have taught you all I can. Michael Granberry, Arts Writer. Author Jane Wolfe lived in Dallas for forty years before recently relocating to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Its 70 acres now eat up multiple blocks, housing museums and a school for the performing arts, in addition to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera and the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center. Despite Mr. Murchison's financial problems and failing health, friends and business acquaintances said he remained a cheerful and optimistic man. Both have become huge moneymakers and a part of American sports mythology. In a 1936 article, The News reported that the home cost $150,000 to build. Clint Murchison Sr. began building the family fortune selling animal skins for pennies; later with interests in oil, real estate, and publishing, he was one of the first conglomerate makers. Mary Grace Granados, Special Contributor. I left football in 1969 and worked in the advertising business in Dallas for a couple of years. Bright said Mr. Murchison once read an uncomplimentary news article about the Dallas Cowboys and himself. J. Edgar Hoover. How different are the very rich from you and me? My total salary for five years with the Cowboys is less than single game checks today. The News described it as Murchisons country home, a 25-room house with an air-conditioned basement. In 1952, Murchison joined a syndicate that included Everette Lee DeGolyer and Jack Crichton, both of Dallas, to use connections in the government of General Francisco Franco to obtain drilling rights in Spain. He says theyll only run Emmitt Smith about 10 times in the first half and then run him down Buffalos throat in the second half. The character, made famous, or infamous, by actor Larry Hagman (whose mother, Mary Martin, played the title role in the original Broadway production of Peter Pan), hot-wired a ratings bonanza that introduced the world to the hole in the roof. In 1919, he made his way to Fort Worth, with nary a penny in his pocket. His father loved to stay borrowed up to the hilt. They won for 20 years. 1 am quickly backpedaling. In 1953, Fortune magazine published a two-part profile of Clint Sr., who then controlled 103 companies, ranging, in Woolleys words, from such traditional Texas interests as oil, gas, cattle and banks to a fishing tackle company, tourist courts, a silverware factory, Martha Washington Candy and Field and Stream magazine, which flourished in the golden age of magazines. Clint Murchi-son Jr. was there-he was already desperately ill. In her first book, Wolfe, former society editor of the Dallas Morning News , gives a superb glimpse of the personal lives and family dynamics of these millionaires whose bankruptcy in 1985 stunned both the state of Texas and the nation's financial community. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. [2] Personal [ edit] In 1984, an ailing Murchison[4] sold the Dallas Cowboys to an investment syndicate led by Bum Bright, a Dallas area businessman who had a background in banking/financial services and in oil/gas production. He got two technicals and lost the kids a close game the other night. [1] He died of pneumonia in 1987 at age 63 in Dallas,[2] and is buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in North Dallas. Clint Sr. was born in 1895 in Athens, a small hamlet in East Texas. The Murchison wealth was left to Clint Jr. and his younger brother, John. Clinton Williams Murchison Jr. (September 12, 1923 - March 30, 1987) was a businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football team. MARY LEVY, HEAD COACH of the Buffalo Bills, will tell you that the greatest football player he ever coached was Don Perkins at New Mexico in the late 50s. Carter and the latest version of the Cowboys have a lot in common. He seems to be able to listen to my question and understand the rap lyrics. The club came apart from the top. Co-author Burk Murchison is named for the uncle who died. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. The slow, downward death spiral. [11] Texas Stadium was the first dedicated football stadium to offer luxury suites. I guess. I nod. He gets on my nerves but hes a good coach. Carters eyes never leave the television. It represented a new vanguard in American stadia, just as its predecessor had when it opened for football on a sunlit afternoon on Oct. 24, 1971, with halfback Duane Thomas notching its first score on a 56-yard touchdown run that served as a lyrical foreshadowing of what would happen months later: The Cowboys captured their first championship, beating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI in New Orleans by the lopsided score of 243. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we dont use a simple average. Clint Murchison Sr. began building the family fortune selling animal skins for pennies; later with interests in oil, real estate, and publishing, he was one of the first conglomerate makers. And, I must admit I got some enjoyment out of it. Construction on the vast estate began in 1936, and the home was designed by noted architect Anton Korn, according to The Dallas Morning News archives. NO OTHER PRO TEAM HAD ever quite like them, at one and the same time so rich, so dazzling, so young-and so tragic. Dallas sportswriter Blackie Sherrod attributed the Cowboys' success to two rare possessions of Clint Murchison: a bottomless pocketbook and patience.[8]. Owning islands and football teams and how it can all end; Clint Jr owning the World Champion Dallas Cowboys and having $4000.00 in the bank when he filed for bankruptcy. Son of a Texas Wildcatter. When Clint Murchison, Jr. was 26 years old in 1949, his father. The more it changes, the more it stays the same. John Murchison and his brother Clint Murchison Jr. were the first owners of the Dallas Cowboys. Willie Nelson and Roger Miller, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Doors.