Cowboys’ Jerry Jones tells story of nearly owning Chargers at 28
There is perhaps no more hands-on executive in the four North American professional sports leagues than Jerry Jones, the team owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys.
While the Cowboys enjoyed tremendous success in the 1990s under Jones’ ownership, which included two straight Super Bowl wins, Jones has garnered increased criticism and scrutiny for how he’s chosen to run the team in recent years, none of which have yielded a championship.
Jones recently disclosed via WFAA that he nearly became the owner of the San Diego Chargers at the age of 28 with assistance fr om infamous labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, who was the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 to 1971.
“I got real close to owning the San Diego Chargers when I was about 28 years old,” Jones said. “I was borrowing money from the Teamsters, a connection helped me get a visit with Jimmy Hoffa. Jimmy Hoffa was one of the most feared names in America. And he basically said, ‘We think we can be a part of being in professional sports.'”
Jones then explained that his father didn’t approve of the potential risks that came with it, resulting in the deal eventually falling through.
“I was shattered,” Jones said. “My dream of football had passed me by.”
Hoffa infamo usly disappeared forever in July 1975 and was never found. He was declared legally dead by a Michigan probate court in 1982.
Jerry Jones became the owner of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989
Just over 20 years after his failed venture to become the owner of the Chargers, Jones purchased the Cowboys from H.R. “Bum” Bright in 1989 for $140 million, the equivalent of approximately $300 million in today’s money. Jones then stunned fans by firing coach Tom Landry and hiring Jimmy Johnson in his place.
Eventually, the Cowboys earned the moniker of “America’s Team” by winning consecutive Super Bowls and rising in the ranks to become the most valuable professional sports franchise in North America.
Jones has become known for his ultra hands-on approach to being the team’s owner as well as the general manager, and there have been multiple grassroots attempts by Cowboys fans to get him to step down and even sell the team, which he has vowed will never happen.
