AzorAhai
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Dallas Commanders
In 1958, two Texas oilmen named John and Clint Murchison, Jr. desired an NFL team. These men were so wealthy they owned a private island in the Bahamas. At the same time they wanted to base the club in their hometown of Dallas. Their attempts to buy the 1952 Dallas Texans failed and later they tried to purchase the San Francisco 49ers. They heard that the longtime owner of the Commanders, George Preston Marshall, might be interested in selling his franchise if the right deal came his way.
The negotiations for Murchison to purchase the Commanders went quite well. Marshall was willing to sell and was reported to need funds for his laundry operations across Maryland. An agreement was set to finalize the deal for $600,000 with the provision that Marshall would manage the team for five years even though the club would relocate to Dallas.
On the day that Clint, Jr. arrived at Marshall’s attorney’s office to sign the agreement, terms of the deal had been changed. It seems that Marshall now had inked a 10-year management clause as one of the contract’s unauthorized deviations. This angered Murchison - who then nixed the entire sale.
So, the Commanders remained in Washington and Dallas still did not have pro football. However, there would a twist on the horizon to this saga.
Much more at
http://www.bigblueview.com/2016/9/2...lmost-happened-cowboys-washington-nfl-history
The part in the link about the Commanders owner nearly blocking the expansion of the NFL into Dallas and the back room deal that allowed it to happen is crazy. These two teams were destined to hate each other. I've honestly never known most of the things written in this article, though I'm sure more than a few here did.
In 1958, two Texas oilmen named John and Clint Murchison, Jr. desired an NFL team. These men were so wealthy they owned a private island in the Bahamas. At the same time they wanted to base the club in their hometown of Dallas. Their attempts to buy the 1952 Dallas Texans failed and later they tried to purchase the San Francisco 49ers. They heard that the longtime owner of the Commanders, George Preston Marshall, might be interested in selling his franchise if the right deal came his way.
The negotiations for Murchison to purchase the Commanders went quite well. Marshall was willing to sell and was reported to need funds for his laundry operations across Maryland. An agreement was set to finalize the deal for $600,000 with the provision that Marshall would manage the team for five years even though the club would relocate to Dallas.
On the day that Clint, Jr. arrived at Marshall’s attorney’s office to sign the agreement, terms of the deal had been changed. It seems that Marshall now had inked a 10-year management clause as one of the contract’s unauthorized deviations. This angered Murchison - who then nixed the entire sale.
So, the Commanders remained in Washington and Dallas still did not have pro football. However, there would a twist on the horizon to this saga.
Much more at
http://www.bigblueview.com/2016/9/2...lmost-happened-cowboys-washington-nfl-history
The part in the link about the Commanders owner nearly blocking the expansion of the NFL into Dallas and the back room deal that allowed it to happen is crazy. These two teams were destined to hate each other. I've honestly never known most of the things written in this article, though I'm sure more than a few here did.
