Clint Murchison Jr.

Early life

Murchison had two brothers, John D. Murchison (1921–1979) and Burk Murchison (1925–1936), who died at age ten from a childhood disease. His mother died when he was two and he was mainly raised by an aunt. He attended school at Lawrenceville Prep and then became a student at Duke University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in electrical engineering. He received a master's degree in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Business career

Following the death of his father Clint Murchison Sr., John and Clint Jr. inherited the wealth that their father had created. They began doing business as the Murchison Brothers in the late nineteen-forties from an office in Dallas, Texas. Their inherited interests included the Daisy Manufacturing Company (manufacturing a BB gun); the Centex Corporation; Field and Stream magazine; Henry Holt and Company (later known as Holt, Rinehart, and Winston); Delhi Oil and a marine construction company known as Tecon Corporation.

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. The operation was handled by Delta Drilling, owned by Joe Zeppa.

Dallas Cowboys founding owner

In 1960, the National Football League approved a franchise for Dallas, and Murchison, along with Bedford Wynne, was the franchisee or license holder. 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. 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.

For the most part, Murchison was a hands-off owner, delegating a great deal of operational control of the Cowboys to General Manager Tex Schramm, Coach Tom Landry and Scouting/Personnel Director Gil Brandt. His general attitude was to hire experts and let them execute the aspect of the business that fell in their expertise. Hence, Landry enjoyed absolute authority over the day-to-day running of the actual team; Brandt was unhindered in the area of drafting and scouting players, and Schramm oversaw many of the team's day to day administrative concerns. This laissez faire attitude has been credited by many Cowboys fans as the driving force in the team's 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966–1985. By not interfering with his coaches and staff, Murchison did not create an atmosphere of second guessing and arguments over player selection or credit for the team's success.

In 1984, Murchison 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. Bright in turn sold the Cowboys to Jerry Jones in 1989 following several losing seasons.

Radio Nord

Murchison funded radio entrepreneur Gordon McLendon to create a floating commercial (pirate radio) station called Radio Nord aboard the motor vessel Bon Jour, anchored in the Stockholm archipelago. 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.

Radio Nord broadcast in Swedish for 16 months, between March 8, 1961 and June 30, 1962. With its mix of popular music, DJ's and news, Radio Nord became very popular. Despite politics and religious issues being banned at the station, it was stopped when the Swedish government introduced new legislation in the spring of 1962, criminalizing the act of buying commercials on the station.

The ship Bon Jour was later renamed Mi Amigo, and after docking for almost a year in Galveston, Texas she sailed for southern England to become Radio Atlanta (McLendon began his radio career in the small town of Atlanta, Texas). The station was not a financial success, and joined forces with the Caroline organization to become the southern station of Radio Caroline. Within a short period of time the "Project Atlanta" people sold out completely to the Caroline group.

Bankruptcy

Murchison ran into financial difficulties as a result of questionable investments and mismanagement at a time when the real estate market was collapsing, at the same time as a sharp decrease in the price of oil. In February 1985, he had to file for personal bankruptcy protection after three creditors, the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Kona-Post Corporation and Citicorp, filed a petition to force him into bankruptcy. Lawyers involved in the case called it one of the largest personal bankruptcy cases in United States history.

Death

Murchison fought a nerve disease and was in a wheelchair in his final years. He died of pneumonia in 1987 at age 63 in Dallas, and is buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in North Dallas.