DALLAS - Had Tex Schramm only built the Cowboys into "America's Team" his contribution to pro football would've been immense. Yet it was only part of his impact on the NFL.
From using professional dancers as cheerleaders to letting officials correct calls through instant replay, Mr. Schramm's bold innovations and keen eye for promotion made him one of the driving forces in turning the NFL into a billion-dollar industry.
Mr. Schramm, the first team executive elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Tuesday at his Dallas home. The former Cowboys president and general manager was 83.
As the man who gave Pete Rozelle his first job in the league and the chairman of the powerful Competition Committee for 25 years, Mr. Schramm's contributions to league history run deep.
"You would run out of ink if you tried to write them all down," Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt said.
Yet Mr. Schramm always made it clear the Cowboys were his top priority.
Hired before the team was officially given an NFL franchise, Mr. Schramm's first move was hiring Tom Landry as coach. Despite opposite personalities, their "business relationship" - as Mr. Schramm called it - produced 20 straight winning seasons, 18 playoff appearances, 13 division titles, five Super Bowl appearances and two championships.
"Tex was responsible for building the Dallas Cowboys and making them the team that they were," said Wellington Mara, owner of the rival Giants. "He built that franchise up and kept it running."
In a way, Mr. Schramm's spirit lives on wherever NFL games are played.
It was his idea to put radios in quarterback helmets, to make the sideline borders wide and for wind-direction strips to dangle atop the goalpost uprights.
While running the Competition Committee, he oversaw rules changes such as using overtime in the regular season, putting the official time on the scoreboard, moving goal posts from the front of the end zone to the back and protecting quarterbacks through the in-the-grasp rule.
"Tex will go down as one of the most influential figures in the history of the NFL," said Don Shula, the league's winningest coach. "I truly believe he had as much, or more, to do with the success of professional football as anyone who has ever been connected with the league."
Texas Earnest Schramm Jr. was born June 2, 1920 - but not in Texas. He grew up in San Gabriel, Calif. Texas was his father's name and where his parents met.
Mr. Schramm earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas and became a sports writer after a stint in the Air Force.
He worked for the Rams from 1947-56 then went to CBS, where he learned the intricacies of wedding football and television.
Mr. Schramm was 39 when he was hired to start the NFL team in Dallas and 41 when the Cowboys won a game.
Mr. Schramm's wife of 60 years, Marty, died in December.
A private funeral will be held Friday.
"The world is not as lively a place without Tex," Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell said. "Above everything else, Tex was a great guy, a person who could make you laugh and appreciate the moment."
CHARGERS: Second-round draft pick Terrence Kiel, shot during an attempted carjacking July 4, will have arthroscopic surgery today. Doctors will remove loose knee fragments as well as a bullet that was lodged near the surface of his abdomen.
JETS: Former Pro Bowl tackle Chester McGlockton signed, giving the team added depth on a depleted front. Starter Josh Evans was suspended indefinitely last month for violating the league's substance-abuse policy and first-round pick Dewayne Robertson remains unsigned. McGlockton, a 12-year veteran, was released by the Broncos for financial reasons.
PATRIOTS: Fourth-round draft pick Asante Samuel signed. Samuel, a 5-10, 185-pound cornerback, played in 45 career games for Central Florida and had 127 tackles and eight interceptions.
BRADSHAW HIGHWAY: Louisiana Highway 3132, between Interstate 20 and I-49 near Shreveport, will be called the Terry Bradshaw Passway in honor of the Hall of Fame quarterback.
