Just for fun

[Chuck 54]

Maybe people would enjoy a little off-season exercise where we share and learn interesting facts about present and past Cowboys. Feel free to add what you already know or do some research….if you want a break from the usual angst this time of year.

Jerry Jones

• Jerry joined the workforce at age 9 greeting shoppers at his parents’ little grocery store Named Pat’s Supermarket.
• Jerry Jones was a co-captain of the Arkansas Razorbacks when they won the national championship in 1964.
• He earned both this BA in science and his masters degrees while at Arkansas.
• After graduating from college in 1965, he borrowed a million dollars from Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters union to open up a string of Shakey's Pizza Parlor restaurants in Missouri. That venture failed.
• He then worked at his father’s insurance company.
• After several other unsuccessful business ventures (including an attempt, again using Teamsters money, to purchase the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1966), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became successful.
• He is a self made man, making a name for himself as an oil wildcatter and made his first million in oil holdings in the 1970’s.
• It wasn’t until 1986 that his and his partner’s oil company, Arkoma, hit it big with a 175 million score.
• Still, Jerry was cash poor. The Arkoma deal was paid out in installments. So to buy the Cowboys, Jones used what oil and gas earnings he had, offloaded other assets (like his interest in the NBC affiliate in Little Rock) and borrowed the rest to purchase The Cowboys in 1989 for 150 million.
• When Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, it was a fool’s bet. No NFL team had sold for a nine-figure sum back then, and the organization was a mess, hemorrhaging $1 million each month.
• The financial burden ravaged Jones, who says he barely slept and lived at the office, working to whittle down the losses. He later developed arrhythm, which he attributed in part to the stress. It wasn’t until the First City of Houston Bank lent him $100 million a year later that he felt relief.
  “I had danced with the devil to buy the Cowboys, and it was scary,” Jones says. “When I [got the loan], I celebrated because I had all the money back home.”
• He still invests in drilling opportunities today, as well as retail and residential real estate projects in Dallas.
• A 2018 deal made Jones the controlling shareholder in Comstock Resources, a publicly traded Texas oil and gas company.
• An avid art collector, Jones owns Norman Rockwell's "Coin Toss" as well as paintings by Picasso, Renoir and Matisse among others.
• 2024, The Cowboys are valued at 9.2 Billion, and Jerry’s net worth is 14.1 billion. But he has wealth in gas holdings that are bigger than the Cowboys. His impact on the business side of the NFL is why his fellow owners respect him. He has made everyone rich.

 

[nalam]

Truly great personal life story , Too bad he thought his business acumen and hard work will translate to Football knowledge and personnel decisions.

 

[Chuck 54]

Truly great personal life story , Too bad he thought his business acumen and hard work will translate to Football knowledge and personnel decisions.

I think the comment about how much time he spent at the office says it all. He practically lived there because most of his money was tied to a team losing a million per month. But now he owns other businesses, oil and gas, real estate, etc. he shares duties with Stephen now, but there’s no way he can think football every day all day when he has so many other interests and businesses, one bigger than the Cowboys when it comes to his portfolio. It’s way past time for him to hire a GM, even is he wants to maintain the final say on decisions. At least hire a younger guy who gives 100% of his time to the Cowboys and can bring him ideas and opportunities with reasons behind them to consider.

 

[CWR]

Maybe people would enjoy a little off-season exercise where we share and learn interesting facts about present and past Cowboys. Feel free to add what you already know or do some research….if you want a break from the usual angst this time of year.

Jerry Jones

• Jerry joined the workforce at age 9 greeting shoppers at his parents’ little grocery store Named Pat’s Supermarket.
• Jerry Jones was a co-captain of the Arkansas Razorbacks when they won the national championship in 1964.
• He earned both this BA in science and his masters degrees while at Arkansas.
• After graduating from college in 1965, he borrowed a million dollars from Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters union to open up a string of Shakey's Pizza Parlor restaurants in Missouri. That venture failed.
• He then worked at his father’s insurance company.
• After several other unsuccessful business ventures (including an attempt, again using Teamsters money, to purchase the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1966), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became successful.
• He is a self made man, making a name for himself as an oil wildcatter and made his first million in oil holdings in the 1970’s.
• It wasn’t until 1986 that his and his partner’s oil company, Arkoma, hit it big with a 175 million score.
• Still, Jerry was cash poor. The Arkoma deal was paid out in installments. So to buy the Cowboys, Jones used what oil and gas earnings he had, offloaded other assets (like his interest in the NBC affiliate in Little Rock) and borrowed the rest to purchase The Cowboys in 1989 for 150 million.
• When Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, it was a fool’s bet. No NFL team had sold for a nine-figure sum back then, and the organization was a mess, hemorrhaging $1 million each month.
• The financial burden ravaged Jones, who says he barely slept and lived at the office, working to whittle down the losses. He later developed arrhythm, which he attributed in part to the stress. It wasn’t until the First City of Houston Bank lent him $100 million a year later that he felt relief.
  “I had danced with the devil to buy the Cowboys, and it was scary,” Jones says. “When I [got the loan], I celebrated because I had all the money back home.”
• He still invests in drilling opportunities today, as well as retail and residential real estate projects in Dallas.
• A 2018 deal made Jones the controlling shareholder in Comstock Resources, a publicly traded Texas oil and gas company.
• An avid art collector, Jones owns Norman Rockwell's "Coin Toss" as well as paintings by Picasso, Renoir and Matisse among others.
• 2024, The Cowboys are valued at 9.2 Billion, and Jerry’s net worth is 14.1 billion. But he has wealth in gas holdings that are bigger than the Cowboys. His impact on the business side of the NFL is why his fellow owners respect him. He has made everyone rich.

Norman Rockwell is fantastic. Jerry may be self made, but from the ground up I can't imagine how difficult it would be to get not one but two teamster loans. He had to have connections. I wouldn't say it makes him any less self made, but he probably did have some golden opportunities many self made men don't get. Still, it took some balls to pull the trigger on most of those deals, especially the Cowboys at that time in history.

 

[GMO415]

So Jerry never payed Hoffa back the $1 Mill and suddenly Hoffa goes missing.......I'm calling the FBI.

 

[zrinkill]

I love the line saying he is a self made man ........ right after all the times he borrowed millions of dollars (that his daddy vouched for)

 

[Praxit]

Wow , thanks a lot for those , jerry jones tidbits. I never knew any of that. Other than that he purchased the cowboys. That million dollar failed venture, would have did me in...lol. Hats off to him for being tenacious in his approaches.

 

[CCBoy]

I think the comment about how much time he spent at the office says it all. He practically lived there because most of his money was tied to a team losing a million per month. But now he owns other businesses, oil and gas, real estate, etc. he shares duties with Stephen now, but there’s no way he can think football every day all day when he has so many other interests and businesses, one bigger than the Cowboys when it comes to his portfolio. It’s way past time for him to hire a GM, even is he wants to maintain the final say on decisions. At least hire a younger guy who gives 100% of his time to the Cowboys and can bring him ideas and opportunities with reasons behind them to consider.

He has a fully functional staff and the Cowboys don't an excuse to blame. The team is a strong one. With Reid in KC, we'll all see just who wins the Lombardi next between SF, Philadelphia, and the Cowboys. Dallas was the last to win one except for Reid departure to KC. Team values, depth, and win it all head coaches are at best debatable in facts.

All three are strong...Philadelphia defensive line is strongest, but depth isn't as good as Dallas. SF has some questions as to offense now.

 

[Chuck 54]

I love the line saying he is a self made man ........ right after all the times he borrowed millions of dollars (that his daddy vouched for)

Jerry’s dad was a simple grocery store owner, a local store. He wasn’t rich. Borrowing money also comes with the pressure of paying it back. “Teamsters Credit Union pledges to help Teamsters and their families by offering fair and simple loans. We take a look at the big picture, no matter what your credit score. This includes your employment history, debt to income ratio, and credit history. We also offer lower loan rates than most banks and dealers.” - it’s not an unusual practice.

 

[zrinkill]

Jerry’s dad was a simple grocery store owner, a local store. He wasn’t rich. Borrowing money also comes with the pressure of paying it back. “Teamsters Credit Union pledges to help Teamsters and their families by offering fair and simple loans. We take a look at the big picture, no matter what your credit score. This includes your employment history, debt to income ratio, and credit history. We also offer lower loan rates than most banks and dealers.” - it’s not an unusual practice.

He owned 2 supermarkets one that suddenly burst into flames one night (they had plenty of insurance) then he moved and became the President of a big insurance company (what a coincidence)

 

[jazzcat22]

I bought some stock in Comstock after Jerry bought it. I bought and sold that 4 or 5 times over the past 6 years.
I am looking at the chart now. I may buy some more since it has came down some.
Will do some research on it first though as usual toes what direction it may go. It has been a while since I looked at it.