He and Richardson drove to the site, and sure enough, smelled the black gold bubblin up. [4] Over the years the suites increased in value including one trading hands for a million dollars. No pain, no gain. The home has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two half-bathrooms and has been renovated,. Looking for more Posh Properties stories? Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. I played with Don Perkins in Dallas in the 60s, and he was the greatest football player I ever saw. The first of its kind in the NFL, it was originally intended to be part of a 160-acre mixed use development. In that article, which unfolded with the eloquence and elegance of a talented writer, Woolley described Clint Sr. as having a nose for oil. If true, Clint Sr.s nose became nothing less than a beacon for wealth, teleporting him from backwater West Texas boom towns into the horror of the Great Depression, from which he emerged a multimillionaire. ''With his engineering background, he was very much 'hands on' during its construction. This leadership genius produced remarkable results externally and of equal importance maintained this unique, special culture internally. The bonds were in denominations of $250. 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. Sitting there watching Tom and Michael. I am on shaky ground. Recalling his wit and sense of humor, Mr. He reacted to his rejection by threatening to slit the throat of loan manager Johnell Bryant, who told him she was skilled in the martial arts, which scared him away. In terms of what stadiums could mean to the foundation of a franchise, Jones took what Clint envisioned and put it on steroids. 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. John later went to Yale but quit to join the Army Air Corps when World War II broke out. Carter has already heard this. He has turned on MTV and is watching the Naughty By Nature video Hip-Hop Hooray. That was all a long time ago. He believed his team would be good, even special, for years to come. He looks at me. He fought a rare nerve disease and died in 1987 at age 63. Brandt had a free hand in drafting and scouting players, and Landry enjoyed absolute authority over the day-to-day running of the actual team. Bright said Mr. Murchison replied with a letter that read: ''Dear Ed, you are full of prunes. Just one story in the folklore is how one night, Clint Sr. drove to Wichita Falls, near the Oklahoma border, fueled by a rumor hed heard about a wildcat well ready to start pumping black gold. When I see Bobby Knight throw a fit on television and realize my son is going to have to deal with a high-school coach who thinks mats the way to behave, I mourn for high-school sports and the quick, bloody death of so many young dreams. You left it all on the field and youre 29 years old with your life stretching out in front of you like a thousand miles of bad road. And, one day, you wake up and realize you did what they told you. Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall hated Clint Murchison Jr. because, to get the Dallas franchise, Murchison lobbed money on Congress to force the Redskins to give up their virtual broadcast monopoly of professional football in the South in 1960. Adjusted for inflation, that amounts to roughly $2.8 million in 2020. Clint Jr., probably best known as the builder and first owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was also a philanderer and deal-maker. Exponentially. But Don Perkins never played in a Super Bowl. How Lamar Hunt and Clint Murchison Jr. cooked up the first Super Bowl. They won for 20 years. 1 am quickly backpedaling. He received a master's degree in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He said he hoped to buy a twin-engine, six-passenger crop duster on which he could add a large fuel tank. 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. One of the first to make nationwide headlines was the youngest of Hunt's sons: shy, well-mannered Lamar. Theres no in-between mats very comfortable. Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of Clint Murchison Jr., from his pinnacle as owner of the Dallas Cowboys to the collapse of his empire in bankruptcy. Also surviving are several grandchildren. Clint William Murchison Jr., (September 12, 1923 in Dallas, Texas-March 30, 1987) was a businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football team. A fantastic book about an amazing dynasty. He retained the management rights to the stadium. They may not go five times, but theyll win all they go to. Carter flips back to MTV. Jerry is a fellow risk-taker who made his money by becoming what feels to us like an oxymoron an Arkansas oilman. [3], In addition to the Dallas Cowboys, The Murchison Family businesses included Centex Corporation (home builders), Daisy Air Rifles, Field & Stream magazine, the Tony Roma's restaurant chain and real estate developments throughout the U.S.[4], In the early 1960s the Murchisons were involved in a proxy fight with Allan P. Kirby over control of Alleghany Corporation, a holding company whose interests included New York Central Railroad and Investors Diversified Services, a large mutual fund company. Now he has a 16-year-old son who sees the team and the sport very differently than he did. Clint Murchi-son Jr. was there-he was already desperately ill. Then Perkins from Waterloo, Iowa, spoke in his deep, mellifluent voice. : '', In the early 1980's, Mr. Murchison was involved in a number of energy and real estate ventures that eventually eroded his wealth. During the outrageously troubled 2020 season, 13 National Football League teams 13! Texas Stadium redefined the sports stadium. His elder son, John, won Wall Street's biggest proxy fight, developed the Vail, Colorada ski resort, and was a noted jet-setter. The old NFL, country music and rock n roll. As we show you later, the city of Dallas twice rejected Americas Team, failing to cut a deal that forced the 21st-century Cowboys to look elsewhere for a new home, which turned out to be Arlington. Most of what Clint said was unintelligible, but he kept pointing with his cane and trying to talk. His elder son, John, won Wall Street's biggest proxy fight, developed the Vail, Colorada ski resort, and was a noted jet-setter. After high school, he enrolled at Trinity University, then in Waxahachie, where he was expelled three weeks later for shooting craps. Marshall would get his number changed and unlisted. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. More than $500 million in liabilities have been filed against the Murchison estate in the last two years. 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. 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. He formed Southern Union Gas Company. When he got to Wichita Falls, he yanked his buddy out of a poker game. It began between the owners, In the beginning, things were a little wildanimals were. He was at top speed by his second step and hit like a freight train. Texas Stadium and its hole in the roof would not have existed had it not been for the Cowboys founder, Clint Murchison Jr. His father, Clint Murchison Sr., was one of the most iconic names in the history of Texas oil, the world that gave rise to J.R. Ewing. It was, however, a natural fit for Clint Jr., who for the first and only time in his life was surrounded by people whose intelligence mirrored his. Clint Sr. appreciated the kindness, but in his mind, academia was no place for a Murchison. He was curious about the latters hole in the roof, which Dallas Cowboys linebacker D. D. Lewis once famously said existed so that God can watch his favorite team.. Mr. Murchison, who had been debilitated by a neurological disorder, was admitted to Gaston Episcopal Hospital here about two weeks ago, said Sandy McCoy, an associate administrator of the hospital. I just wish it was on Kindle. Despite sporting radically different personalities, the two agreed to co-own the Cowboys via their partnership, with each owning half of the 90% of total ownership. Catch up on the day's news you need to know. Before that moment, however, Bryant said he asked specifically about two iconic buildings: the World Trade Center in New York and Texas Stadium in Irving. Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. Clint Jr. had begun as an undergraduate at MIT but was soon derailed by World War II, which led to his induction in the Marine Corps, via the U.S. Navys V-12 program. Anything short of a world championship followed by designing your own line of sporting goods means failure. Their inherited interests included the Daisy Manufacturing Company (manufacturing a BB gun); Field and Stream magazine; Heddon Rod & Reel; Henry Holt and Company (later known as Holt, Rinehart, and Winston); Delhi Oil; Kirby Petroleum and a marine construction company known as Tecon Corporation. Just how long I realized during halftime of Super Bowl XXVII. I was an account executive for Tracy-Locke advertising and we were handling a new Frito-Lay product called Doritos. 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. Co-author Burk Murchison is named for the uncle who died. Carter glances sideways at me and frowns. His hires included Tex Schramm as general manager and Tom Landry as head coach. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. [2] Personal [ edit] After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. She died in 1926, leaving him to raise three small sons John, Clint Jr. and Burk, who died from pneumonia when he was 11. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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. Well, thats what Landry did, 1 point out. Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web. Clint Jr. did, too. The huddle turned strangely quiet for a moment. This story ends with Super Bowl XXVII. The Circle Suites were available for purchase for $50,000 for the life of the stadium. Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017. Mr. I joined the team for the 1964 season, coming to Dallas and the NFL out of Big Ten Basketball at Michigan State. And just as the beginning of the Cowboys epic saga must start with Clint Jr., so his story begins with his dad, Clint Sr. We, the authors, are Burk Murchison (one of Clint Jr.s four children) and Michael Granberry, who grew up in Dallas and who, like his co-author, began following the Cowboys from the moment they were founded in 1960. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Drew Pearson Hole in the Roof (Hardback) (UK IMPORT) at the best online prices at eBay! In 1966, when the still-young Dallas Cowboys franchise ended six years of agony with their first winning season, the team's owner and founder, Clint Murchison Jr., son of a billionaire oilman, was feeling ambitious. New Yorkborn J. Erik Jonsson, a chap of Swedish descent who served as mayor of Dallas from 1964 to 1971, and Fair Park guardian Robert B. Cullum, who owned a supermarket chain that took as its namesake fairy tale hero Tom Thumb, thwarted at every turn Clint Jr.s quixotic crusade to construct a stadium in downtown Dallas, which he hoped to buttress with a lavish new performing arts center and art museum. Johnson also drafted Kevin Smith and traded for Thomas Everett at the defensive halfbacks. He also longed for a symbol of redemption a state-of-the-art stadium that could go a long way toward restoring a depressed downtown in the wake of President John F. Kennedys assassination on Elm Street in Dallas in 1963. CARTERS FRIENDS, THE FINCH twins, Ben and Eric (Eric is a high-school ail-American wide receiver), are Redskins fans. [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. Pre-order from Texas A&M Press. After all, Michael Irvin makes about $1.2 million and drives a Mercedes. By the time I was traded to the New York Giants in 1969, we had been in the playoffs three times, gone twice to the NFL championship game, losing both times to Green Bay on the last play. (for me)in this is the one, Clint Murchison, Sr. who founded the fortunes in the oilfield . Photo Courtesy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Arlington, Texas. My total salary for five years with the Cowboys is less than single game checks today. He could barely speak and had hired ex-Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer to assist him with standing and walking. Mr. Murchison, whose fortune reached an estimated $250 million in 1984, according to Forbes magazine, was recently beset with financial difficulties brought on by the collapse of the real estate market and global oil prices. His sons Clint Jr. and John shared their father's wizardry, adding to their investment firmament the Vail, Colo., ski resort and the Dallas Cowboys. [1][2] 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 his own. The Murchisons were one of the most prominent oil families in Texas, a state knee deep in them. Free to hear the presentation, $30 to buy the book. Jones may not have been aware of it when he bought the Cowboys, but to his credit, he was a quick study. , ISBN-13 Publisher He returned to Athens and worked in the bank until the outbreak of World War I, when he joined the Army. The future seems to be theirs for the taking. The station was not a financial success, and joined forces with the Caroline organization to become the southern station of Radio Caroline. It is the story of the late Burl Osborne, former chairman of "The Associated Press" and publisher of "The Dallas Morning News," who waged and won one of the last great newspaper wars in the United States. In the long run, the Cowboys may be the family's biggest memorial. The article, by Edwin Pope, a sports editor of The Miami Herald, referred to Mr. Murchison as ''a 130-pound halfback from M.I.T.'' A dozen huskies in feeding frenzy, chasing a couple hundred chickens and dragging Santa along behind to boot. J. Edgar Hoover. When he retired in 1968 he was the fifth all-time rusher in the NFL. Through the accelerated officers training program, he was sent to Duke, where he obtained his bachelors degree in electrical engineering. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Spared the wrath of terrorists, Texas Stadium enjoyed a happier fate. See the article in its original context from. While his "financing by finagling" precipitated the crash, the family's downfall also resulted from bitter lawsuits in the third generation. No, he shakes his head. At that time, he was well on his way to success and wealth in gas and oil, Fortune wrote, and if he had been alone in the world he might never have wandered. With its mix of popular music, DJ's and news, Radio Nord became very popular. I dont know anything at all about Smith and Everett. I made $ 11.000, arid my rent was $ 180 a month for a furnished one-bedroom. I cant see how theyre only a 7-point favorite. In 1966, when the still-young Dallas Cowboys franchise ended six years of agony with their first winning season, the team's owner and founder, Clint Murchison Jr., son of a billionaire oilman, was feeling ambitious. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Anyone can read what you share. They were arguably professional footballs most popular team, despite falling short of a championship until they won Super Bowl VI on Jan. 16, 1972. And Murchison didnt stop with the fight song. Over the next 20 years I wrote three more novels, several screenplays, dozens of newspaper and magazine articles and saw my screenplay of North Dallas Forty made into a major motion picture starring Nick Nolte. Vietnam was loomirg, and I was trying to figure out how to dodge the draft. . Its the least I can do. 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. Photos not seen by PW. When it all came to an end in 1984 the tragic part of the story Clint Jr. had lost everything, and risk-taking was largely to blame. His loyalty has spanned all three eras, from Clint Murchison to Bum Bright to Jerry Jones. His name was Mohamed Atta. I hadnt even known who Jimmy Johnson was until he got to Dallas. He said it interfered with concentration. Suite 2100 By Peter H. Frank, Special To the New York Times. ''One of his greatest satisfactions besides the Cowboys was Texas Stadium, the home of the Cowboys,'' John D. O'Connell, a longtime friend and business associate, said of Clinton Murchison. He seems to be able to listen to my question and understand the rap lyrics. And in the Murchison empire, Clint Sr. begat Clint Jr. Hes as remarkably like his father as he was remarkably unlike his brother, radio icon Gordon McLendon once said of his friend Clint Jr. His father we all referred to Clint Sr. as The Boss loved to go into businesses of every description. Hunt and Hugh Roy Cullen, American folk heroes in the making. However, the family's style of loose management and easy credit based on a handshake was ill-suited to the late 1970s, when oil prices toppled and interest rates soared. Mr. Murchison, who had been debilitated. For all my negative feelings about pro football, I can think of no better example to describe the best of life in the NFL in the 60s. And: 2. Theres also guest quarters, complete with a bedroom, living room and kitchen, and an attached five-car garage. Son of legendary Texas oil man Clint Murchison Sr., he enlisted in the Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor, earned an electrical engineering degree from Duke University and a masters in mathematics from MIT. His father was its president. And, right now, in the euphoric afterglow of victory that has to be covering the Metroplex like a constant fog, it would be difficult to find fault with two guys from Arkansas. In todays dollars, thats north of $87 million. Hunt, in helping create the AFL, established a professional football presence in Dallas, and the NFL realized the urgency with which they needed to address a potential market gain by the upstart league and a loss for the established organization. But since he had two sons in their teens, whose business talents were unpredictable, it seemed unwise to keep all their legacy in one immensely risky petroleum basket.. Jones even managed to land the Jan. 1, 2021, Rose Bowl game, which, because of the pandemic, could not be played in its traditional home in Pasadena, Calif. Theyll never get old. In addition to the primary bedroom and bathrooms, the suite has a study, a library and two walk-in closets. Carter tells me that Dallas will beat the Bills in the second half. He was 63 years old. His failure is just one of the ways Hole in the Roof embraces a double meaning. She writes about luxury properties, food and lifestyle in Dallas. The result was the famous Texas Stadium hole in the roof.. Clint was the first American sports owner to see the stadium as the primary source of revenue, even more so than television. The suites were an immediate status sensation. 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. Instead, Murchison believed in his young coach and gave him an unprecedented 10-year contract that turned out to be a very successful move. Yeh? Its probably not healthy to take it all so seriously. He and his Cowboys cronies tried for a decade to foul up the Redskins big Christmas halftime show that was highlighted by Santa arriving at mid-field pulled by a dogsled. Didnt Landry and [Tex] Schramm draft Aikman? I ask halfheartedly. It was the last time I saw Clint Murchison Jr. You cant talk to them about pensions and health insurance and how bad youre gonna feel every morning. Theyve got free agency, and theyre going to live and play in the NFL forever. Learn more. This became a model for how other NFL teams would operate stadiums. Clint taught the sports world how stadiums could be so much more than where games are played. Despite being a scrawny 5 feet 6, 120 pounds, he played halfback on an intramural team at Lawrenceville, his New Jersey prep school. The Cowboys played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since their inception in 1960. [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. Watch what they do to Buffalo. dallashistory.org. Except for one play and they called that one back. Carter and the latest version of the Cowboys have a lot in common. John was more conservative than daring, more measured than maniacal. He was furious. As part of the agreement to build Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, Murchison gave up ownership of the stadium and the 95 acres on which it sat in exchange for a 40-year lease. He couldnt believe this guy in a beard and hip huggers and love beads had somehow gotten onto the Cotton Bowl sidelines and into our locker room. The Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr., and the Stadium That Changed American Sports Forever. The franchise was worth $600,000 when the Murchisons bought it, and the Super Bowl was an afterthought of a game designed to pave the way for the NFL-AFL merger that would keep down player salaries. Great reading on another of the Texas legends-father and sons. Clint Murchi-son Jr. was there-he was already desperately ill. 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. We could not tell the story of Clint Jr. without sharing our view that all good stories fall into three categories: history, comedy or tragedy. They will shut off their outside receivers. it suddenly became clear to me how much time has passed. [4], Murchison, with his MIT background, understood the potential of using computers in football. [10], Incorporating a host of first-ever innovations, Murchison became known as the godfather of modern stadium construction. [4], Cowboys Linebacker D.D. After his father's death in 1969, Mr. Murchison and his brother John ran an array of companies described as ''obscure, fantastic and phantasmagorical'' by Philip I. Palmer Jr., a lawyer who handled the Murchison bankruptcy case in 1985. The younger Mr. Murchison attended preparatory school in Lawrenceville, N.J., and was graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University with a degree in electrical engineering while serving in the Marine Corps. Next play Ill goose him. Beginning in his native East Texas, the elder Mr. Murchison went on to make millions of dollars in the oil fields near Wichita Falls, Tex. I guess thats good. Jane Wolfe is the author of two previous biographies and one that will be published in September, 2022. I have tried to convince myself that if the Cowboys make him happy, then I am happy, but really I still struggle with my own memories of the team and try to reconcile them with the Cowboys of today. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Throughout his business career, Mr. Murchison started and participated in a number of industries, including a taxicab company, publishing, life insurance, restaurants, banks and residential construction. Wolfe tells a riveting tale of the rising fortunes and ultimate downfall of the Murchison family, quintessential high rollers. He loved to spend an evening at the home of a professor, or a fellow graduate student, where the conversation about mathematical or scientific theory lasted well into the morning hours.. And Emmitt Smith is gonna get a lot more than Duane Thomas for doing almost exactly what Duane did on the field. When three creditors, the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Kona-Post Corporation and Citicorp, filed a petition to force him into bankruptcy, the fate of his financial empire was sealed. Under Murchisons ownership the Dallas Cowboys delivered 20 consecutive winning seasons, 17 years of playoff appearances, five trips to the Super Bowl and two Lombardi trophies. 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 . He believed his team would be good, even special, for years to come. Murchison would call up J. Edgar Hoover and get the new number and the midnight chicken calls would begin again. I stood holding Carter in my arms, and it was an awkward moment. And yet, it was money that Clint Sr. and his wife would not be able to share. Its like that. To wit: In 2017, Katy, Texas, unveiled a $72 million high school facility, which carries luxury boxes for corporate sponsors. J. R. crumpled to the floor with a gunshot wound in the cliffhanger episode that aired on March 21, 1980. Clint Jr. became enamored of education and its extracurricular dividend football, which gave him his own identity beyond his dad. His loan was denied. My son knew who Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were before they joined the Cowboys. 1 looked at Carters shirt where the outline of a cowboy on a bucking horse was stitched over his heart. 1 dont know how Johnson treats people. Carter glances at me as two fat VJs start prancing around and talking at us. Plenty of Texas History you would never learn about in a history class (in Texas). Rather than being a city-owned rental facility, la the Cotton Bowl and dozens like it across America, where the only real perk was a hot dog and a Coke (or in Texas, a Dr Pepper), Clint cast the stadium in an adventurous new light, and Jones got it. Money is like manure, Clint Sr. once famously told his boys, echoing a line written by Thornton Wilder in his 1954 play, The Matchmaker, but adding his own special spin: If you spread it around, it does a lot of good.