Sports

May 1, 1989

The World’s Greatest Poker Player

Johnny Chan became a champion through nerve and dedication—and every now and then a few good hands.

By Gregory Curtis

March 1, 1989

The Boys of Spring

You probably think that the main reason to go to the Texas Rangers’ Florida training camp is to watch baseball. You’re probably wrong.

By Jim Atkinson

January 1, 1989

Two-Point Conversion

The question wasn’t whether my son was tough enough to play high school football. It was whether I was tough enough to watch him do it.

By Jan McInroy

December 1, 1988

Kick ‘Em Back! Kick ‘Em Back! Waaay Back!

SMU’s fall socer season had cheerleaders; it had a band; it had pom-pom girls. What it didn’t have was excitement.

By Gregory Curtis

November 1, 1988

Mojo Madness

The Permian Panthers provide the best entertainment between Dallas and El Paso, and nobody enjoys the show more than Jerry Swindall.

September 30, 1988

Texas Primer: Football Hand Signals

From “Hook ‘em, Horns” to “Peck ‘em, Owls,” the Southwest Conference is football’s most hospitable habitat for hand jive.

By Paul Burka

September 1, 1988

Football? What’s the Big Deal?

As much as I hated playing football, I hate watching it more.

By Stephen Harrigan

June 1, 1988

Hope and Glory

A salute to Texas athletes trying young: seven hearts set on the Summer Olympics.

By John Taliaferro

January 1, 1988

Texas Primer: The Cotton Bowl

The ghosts of bowl games past recall an era when cotton and the Cotton Bowl were king in Texas.

By Lawrence Wright

November 1, 1987

Spur of the Moment

San Antonio put a full-court press on basketball superstar David Robinson in hopes that he wouldn’t forget the Alamo City.

By Gary Cartwright

October 1, 1987

The World According to Coach

Never say Kant, Socrates it to ’em, and other collected wisdom from Texas’ Friday-night philosophers.

September 30, 1987

Beating the Elusive Red Drum

What sport requires cunning, stamina, skill, and a fondess for sloshing aroound in the muck? Why, fishing for reds off the coast of Texas, of course.

By Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson

September 1, 1987

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

When he played for the Dallas Cowboys, Hollywood Henderson had everything. Here he tells how he lost it.

July 1, 1987

Donald Curry vs. the World

All boxers are wary in the ring, where defeat is only a well-placed punch away. But Donald Curry knows that the real terrors of boxing lie beyond the ropes.

By Drew Jubera

June 1, 1987

Texas Primer: Clint Murchison, Jr.

He was one tycoon who enjoyed the hell out of his money.

By Gary Cartwright

September 1, 1986

The Cowboys, the Indian, and the Computer That Fumbled

The most important new addition to the Dallas Cowboys is a veteran from the team’s early years —computer genius Salam Qureishi.

By Aaron Latham

January 1, 1986

Friday Night Ringers

Why do the towns that have oil also have the best football players?

By Larry L. King

December 1, 1985

Professor of Football

Okay, now, listen up. This story is about Bill Yeoman, a really good football coach. Read it or run three laps after practice.

By Peter Elkind

September 30, 1985

Texas Primer: The Wishbone Offense

Darrell Royal’s supremely simple invention took Texas teams to the top and kept them there.

By Jim Atkinson

August 1, 1985

The Wee World of Golf

Looking for a sport that offers plenty of cheap thrills and wacky challenges but requires no training, no equipment, and no big bucks? Try miniature golf.

July 31, 1985

Don’t Do What They Did to David Clyde

Though he fought against bad management, bad coaching, and bad habits, he finally struck out at baseball, the victim of too much too soon.

By Brad Buchholz

January 1, 1985

Towers of Power

So. Ralph Sampson listens to Grover Washington and Akeem Olajuwon craves Chinese food. Now you know.

By Harry Hurt III

December 1, 1984

Has Success Spoiled Snook?

After winning seven straight state basketball championships, the Snook Bluejays are learning that success has a flip side.

By Larry Herold

July 31, 1984

The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World

Bobby Morrow was America’s most celebrated Olympic athlete in 1956. Today he wishes he’d never left the starting blocks.

By William Martin

February 1, 1984

The America’s Team Caper

Someone had done in the Cowboys and I had to find the killer, but there were too many suspects.

By Peter Applebome

January 1, 1984

Gambling on the Gamblers

Jerry Argovitz made himself unpopular with NFL management as an abrasive player’s agent. Now that he owns Houston’s new football team, he finds himself on the other side of the table—and the issues.

December 1, 1983

Secrets of a Deep, Dark Game

Listen up, you Monday morning quarterbacks. How much do you really know about the classic triple option?

By Neal Morgan

September 1, 1983

Passing the Bucks

Football recruiting makes the NCAA see red, but SMU sees orange.

April 1, 1983

Hell on Wheels

In which John Howard, our toughest athlete, goes after a world bicycle record and hopes america will care.

By Harry Hurt III

December 1, 1982

Coach Royal Regrets

Does Texas’ greatest college coach miss football? Nope.

March 1, 1982

We Believe In You, Coach

In hiring football coach Jackie Sherrill, the A&M regents were acting life shrewd businessmen, but that may not be the best way to run a university.

By Dan Balz

November 1, 1981

Running Dogs

Four hundred Texans breed and train an uncommon kind of livestock—greyhounds.

October 1, 1981

Throw It to Me!

Drew Pearson, Tony Hill, and Butch Johnson are wide receivers for the Dallas Cowboys—in other words, they’re artists, egomaniacs, fierce competitors, and the heart of the team.

September 1, 1981

Carl Lewis and the Exquisite Science of Jumping

All this twenty-year-old University of Houston student wants to do is jump farther and run faster than anyone else ever has.

By John Bloom

April 30, 1981

The Pitcher’s Right Arm

The Hendricks brothers are pros at making money - for themselves as well as for the pros they represent.

By Daniel Okrent

March 1, 1981

Cardinal Virtues

Lamar University’s hotshot basketball team makes lost of hoops, little hoopla.

By Gene Lyons

November 1, 1980

The Ultimate Sport

Polo? It’s passé. Big game hunting? Humdrum. It’s the pursuit of the wily blue marlin that admits men to the world’s most exclusive club.

November 1, 1980

Teaming With Problems

The Houston Rockets need work; the Dallas Mavericks need help.

By Tom Walker

November 1, 1980

On the Rebound

After a sloppy 1979-80 season, the San Antonio Spurs had no coach, no center, and no end to their problems. But all that has changed.

By Tom Walker

September 1, 1980

The Modified Triple-Reverse, Double-Handoff Option

Football has degenerated into a routine encounter between two sets of programmed, steroid-stuffed robots. These trick plays could change all that.

By Paul Burka

August 1, 1980

Ring of Truth

Two brave bulls stood between Paco Olivera and the prize he had worked for all his life.

July 31, 1980

It’s Not Whether You Win

The Astros are packing ‘em in with a great new pitch—a sales pitch.

By Max Apple

June 1, 1980

Spit and Polish

If throwing a spitball is an art, Gaylord Perry is Michelangelo.

By Larry Wright

March 1, 1980

Termite Watkins and the Fatal Pancakes

In a big fight you can outwit, outhit, or outlast your opponent. But you’d better not try to outeat him.

December 25, 1979

The Real Mean Green

Talk to coaches and team owners about AstroTurf and you’ll hear all its advantages. Talk to the players and you’ll hear a different story.

November 1, 1979

Trial by Water

Marathon canoe racing is the toughest sport in Texas. It’s tougher than bull riding, more grueling than pro football. The canoeists say that’s why it’s fun.