Clint Murchison, Jr.

Clinton Williams Murchison Jr. (September 12, 1923 – March 30, 1987) was a businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football team. A son of Clint Murchison Sr., who made his first fortune in oil exploration and became notorious for exploiting the sale of "hot oil", Clint and his surviving brother inherited their father's wealth and business interests to which Clint Jr. added ventures of his own. These included the establishment of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys franchise, real estate development, construction, home building, restaurants and financing the offshore pirate radio station called Radio Nord. 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 School and joined the Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor and went on to become a student at Duke University as part of the Marine Corps V-12 training program 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 1940s from an office in Dallas, Texas. Their inherited interests included the Daisy Manufacturing Company (manufacturing a BB gun); Field and Stream magazine; Heddon Rod & Reel; Henry Holt and Company (later known as Holt, Rinehart, and Winston); Delhi Oil; Kirby Petroleum and a marine construction company known as Tecon Corporation. In addition to the Dallas Cowboys, The Murchison Family businesses included Centex Corporation (home builders), Daisy Air Rifles, Field & Stream magazine, the Tony Roma's restaurant chain and real estate developments throughout the U.S.