Cowboys architect, NFL innovator Schramm dies at 83

[Michael82]

Tex Schramm, the showboating innovator who helped build the Dallas Cowboys into "America's Team" and was an instrumental figure in the NFL's evolution and popularity, died at his home Tuesday. He was 83.

Greg Court, Schramm's son-in-law, told The Associated Press that Schramm died at his Dallas home Tuesday morning.

Schramm hired Tom Landry as the Cowboys' first coach and was with the team for the first 29 seasons. He left in 1989, two months after Jerry Jones bought the club and fired Landry, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame two years later.

Schramm's legacy extends far beyond the Cowboys. Without playing a down, he did as much as anyone to shape today's NFL.

Instant replay, sideline radios in quarterback helmets and starting the play clock immediately after the previous play were all his ideas. MORE... (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6307926.htm)

[Gunzlingr]

DALLAS -- Tex Schramm, the Cowboys legendary president and general manager who only three months ago was announced as the 12th member of the Cowboys' exclusive Ring of Honor, died Tuesday morning in his home.

He was 83.

"This organization and its fans will forever be the beneficiaries of Tex Schramm's spirit and vision -- his passion and creativity," said Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner and general manager.

Schramm was there the day the expansion Cowboys were accepted into the NFL in 1960 and stayed until 1989. During those 29 years as president and general manager, the Cowboys became probably the most-recognized sports entity in the world, reaching five Super Bowls, winning two, and stringing together an NFL-best 20 consecutive winning seasons.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

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[Michael82]

As his health deteriorated, Tex Schramm described exactly how he wanted his memorial service handled.

He picked specific people to talk about specific areas of his life. He expected them to need only a few minutes each, and asked that they keep it upbeat.

And, as an epitaph, he told friend Gary Morris that he "wanted to be remembered as someone who made a difference, someone who made history."

For 75 minutes Friday in Dallas, football dignitaries Roger Staubach, Don Shula and Paul Tagliabue were among those who recalled Schramm's passion for the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, and the pioneering role he had in turning both into the powerhouses they are today.

"There will never be another splendid blend of talent, toughness and temperament," said Tagliabue, the NFL commissioner. MORE... (http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/4/059019-6794-038.html)

[Michael82]

Long before game time he prowled the playing field. When NFL officials penalized his beloved team, he roared, in pained protest, like a jungle cat with a thorn stuck in his paw.

On Friday, they buried the old lion.

Friends and rivals said goodbye to Tex Schramm.

His death this week at age 83 marks the passing of an era for those who knew and admired him for his energy, foresight, competitive spirit, stubbornness, pomposity, humor and abiding commitment to an organization he transformed from an expansion franchise into what former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula called "the greatest organization in all of sports." MORE.... (http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/6339565.htm.)

[Michael82]

Tex Schramm's formal send-off Friday at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church began with the most appropriate hymn in the Methodist hymnal -- How Great Thou Art.

If Tex had been there, he'd have taken that personally, nodding and smiling while the congregation paid homage to one of the most innovative and creative thinkers professional sports has ever known.

But Texas E. Schramm wasn't physically in attendance at his own memorial service, of course. He had other business to attend to, and Tex was never one to put business off until later. MORE.... (http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/6339621.htm)