Tex Schramm: Hall of Fame

[Hostile]

Texas Earnest "Tex" Schramm, Jr.
1960 - 1988
General Manager, Texas

Texas Earnest Schramm, Jr. . .Cowboys president-general manager, 1960-1989. . .His Dallas teams had 20 straight winning seasons, 1966-1985. . . Significant force in AFL-NFL merger, 1966. . . Promoted six-division, wild-card playoff concepts for merged NFL. . .NFL competition committee chairman, 1966-1988. . .Major advocate of instant replay, special field markings, offense-enhancing rules changes. . . Born June 2, 1920, in San Gabriel, California. . .Died July 15, 2003, at the age of 83.


Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame 7/27/91
Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 10/12/03

Link to Tex Schramm's Hall of Fame page

Tex Schramm, except for a three-year stint as assistant director of sports for CBS television in the late 1950s, played a dynamic role in professional football throughout a 44-year span between 1947 and 1990.

He began his NFL career as publicity director of the Los Angeles Rams and finished as president and chief executive officer of the World League of American Football. In between, he served the Rams for 10 seasons and the Dallas Cowboys for 29 years.

Schramm earned his journalism degree at the University of Texas. After two years as a sports writer with the American-Statesman in Austin, Texas, Schramm moved to Los Angeles to join the Rams. He advanced through the ranks and was general manager of the team when he joined CBS in 1957.

Tex joined the Cowboys at the time of the team's inception in 1960. In a 29-year tenure that ended after the 1988 season, Schramm fashioned the Cowboys into one of the showcase franchises of all professional sports. His Cowboys teams played in five Super Bowls, winning two, had 20 consecutive winning seasons, and 18 playoff appearances in those 20 years.

Schramm's contributions to pro football did not stop with the Cowboys however. For 23 years, he was the chairman of the influential NFL competition committee. Along with Lamar Hunt, he was a leading force in the AFL-NFL merger that was culminated in 1970.

Schramm introduced the concept of three divisions in each of two conferences with wild-card playoff teams. He led the fight for instant replay as an officiating tool and a fan-interest enhancer. He was a leading advocate of such innovations as a referee's microphone, a 30-second clock between plays, extra-wide sideline borders, wind-direction strips on goal post, uprights and multicolor striping for 20- and 50-yard lines.

[CrazyCowboy]

It was approximately 1985 and I was in the garage (make shift gym) at the time, lifting weights and listening to the Tex Schramm Show on the radio.

At the end of the show they ask a trivia question and although I don't remember the exact question the answer was RB Calvin Hill. I screamed into the kitchen for my wife to call in the show and she screamed back it was ringing (usually busy).

Mr Schramm ask my wife if she knew the answer to the trivia question and I hollered it to her, "Calvin Hill" and Mr. Tex Schramm said, Yes you are correct congratulations. My wife, started screaming, honey we won....we won....and Mr. Schramm said, now young lady you are the type of fans we need at the stadium on Sunday's......anyhow, he sent us a book of the 25 years of the Dallas Cowboys history which I still have and cherish to this day!

Well, that is my little story.........

[superpunk]

I just got my first memory of Tex Schramm.

He inspired the longest CrazyCowboy post in recorded history.

BTW - I am really enjoying these for each player and coach, just a note to all the contributors. I love the pictures, too, since I cannot read. Great idea to the originators.

[Hostile]

It is hard for me to imagine that today's generation of fans might not know anything about Tex Schramm. Simply put, in NFL circles, he is a legend. if you look at old films you will see the goal post are shaped like and H and placed on the Goal line. Nowadays they are behind the end line and the cross bar is directly above it. That was an idea fostered by Tex Schramm. At outdoor stadiums you will see orange flags at the top of the goal posts for kickers to gauge the wind. That too was an idea by Tex. Reportedly he got the idea from seeing a windsock at an airport when he was taking a flight. In other words he never stopped trying to find ways to aid the game.

More than anything else that is why he was chosen to represent the NFL in the meetings with Lamar Hunt to merge with the AFL and why he was Chairman of the NFL Competition Comittee for many years.

The Cowboys were the first team to have cheerleaders. Tex was responsible for that and I thank him all the time. At his post humous induction into the Ring of Honor, over 200 former and then current Cowboys cheerleaders were present on the field to honor him.

His impact on the game as a whole cannot be acknowledged enough. Have you ever noticed that the uprights on the chain markers the referee crews use have 2 different looks? Tex did. In watching film of a game he saw a player run past one of the upright markers and he wondered which one it was. Did you know he proposed the 3 foot wide sidelines of white so it could be determined if a player was in bounds or not?

Tex was amazing and it is an honor that he is associated most with the Cowboys.

[ABQCOWBOY]

The lasting memory I will have of "Tex" Ernie Schramm will be of his role in shaping the NFL. In my mind, he will always be linked to Pete Rozelle and Lamar Hunt. These were truely three Giants of NFL Football. Had any of the three been born at a different time, they would still have been succesful but because the three were at the same place in time, the result was the Modern NFL. If you are a fan of the NFL, regardless of team, then you owe a debt of thanks to all three of these men. Tex Schramm, former University of Texas Longhorn, and one of the original founding fathers of the Modern NFL.

That is my most lasting memory of Tex Schramm.

[Cajuncowboy]

IIRC, it was Tex's idea to have the "TV" numbers on the shoulder pads so the television audience would be able to identifiy players easier as well. He knew what the fans wanted and what the game needed.

I think the league needs more visionaries like Tex!

[DallasCowpoke]

Originally Posted by superpunk

I just got my first memory of Tex Schramm.

He inspired the longest CrazyCowboy post in recorded history.

DANG you, you beat me to it!

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

Tex Schramm, former University of Texas Longhorn, and one of the original founding fathers of the Modern NFL.

Isn't it interesting that two of the most influential figures in the NFL, let alone the Cowboys, were Texas Exes? Coincidence? I think not!

[poke]

just another small bit about one of the things Tex influenced...
for those of you who hate the blue-green tint the Cowboys uniform
pants have, i saw a TV show where Tex tried several different color
types on the field and compared how they showed up on the TV.
the blue-green tinted ( thats the best way i can describe that color)pants
were the ones he felt stood out the most. whenever a thread goes on and on
about how hideous or dumb those pants look i remember seeing that show
and all the time Tex put into his decision and decide i like those pants just fine. Tex wasnt wrong about most things and so his choice is good enough for
me.

[poke]

ps: i also am enjoying these history posts. thanks for doing these.