John W. Mecom Jr.

Last updated

John W. Mecom Jr. (born 1940 [1] ) is the chairman of the John W. Mecom company and former owner of the New Orleans Saints NFL football team.

Contents

Early life

Mecom is the son of Texas oilman John W. Mecom Sr. and his wife Mary Elizabeth. He was a student at the University of Oklahoma. [2] [3]

He is the owner and chairman of the John W. Mecom company, which was started by his father. The company is primarily involved in real estate and the oil and gas industry.

John, Jr. followed with his own achievements in the oil and gas industry, and in various real estate ventures. He also branched out into professional sports with a special interest in motorsport and football. In the early 1960s he formed his own racing team, Mecom Racing that successfully competed throughout the U.S. and had such drivers as Roger Penske, Pedro Rodriguez, AJ Foyt and Jackie Stewart. Graham Hill raced his car to victory at the 1966 Indianapolis 500. [4]

Sports ownership

On November 1, 1966, the National Football League awarded a team to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, as spearheaded by businessmen such as David Dixon and politicians such as Congressmen Hale Boggs and Governor John McKeithen, which would play in the 1967 season. William G. Helis Jr., Herman Lay, Louis J. Roussel Jr., Jack Sanders, Edgar B. Stern Jr., and John W. Mecom Jr. were the six bidders for the franchise. [5] On December 15, 1966, Mecom was the winning bid, purchasing the team for $8.5 million from the NFL and became the youngest owner of an NFL franchise. [6] [7] Soon christened as the New Orleans Saints, Mecom spearheaded the black and gold color scheme that the Saints would wear (Dixon had pushed for Mardi Gras colors), which came after testing at Tulane Stadium, the first home of the Saints until the Superdome was built, which did not end up being completed until 1975. [8] In eighteen seasons as owner, the Saints went 78–176–5, with only 1979 and 1983 seeing the team win more than seven games. [9] Owing to his inexperience, Mecom attempted to remedy the team's perpetual troubles with the advice from anyone he could ask, such as the league or the media, which only made things worse. The 1980 team lost fourteen games to start the year, and fans started to wear paper bags over their heads with "Aints" on it before one idea to respond to the team "laying an egg" saw the team building and Mecom's apartment bombarded with eggs for a week. [10] In late 1984, he announced that the team was up for sale. Mecom stated that talks about potentially leaving New Orleans only happened when state Governor Edwin Edwards did not want to negotiate a new lease with the team. Cities included in the rumor mill were Indianapolis, Indiana, Phoenix, Arizona and Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville made an offer to buy 49% for over $110 million, but Mecom did not wish to be the man known for moving the Saints out of New Orleans. Abram Nicholas Pritzker was considered as a potential buyer but attempts to bring in a partner in George Gillette Jr (who had tried to buy the team with Potter Palmer in 1973 with bitter results) led to the talks breaking off. On May 31, 1985, he sold the team for $64 million to New Orleans-native businessman Tom Benson (as encouraged by Edwards). [11] [12]

Mecom dealt with a bout of cancer in 2007 that lasted a number of years while living in Houston. When interviewed for the Saints Super Bowl run over 20 years since his sale of the team (where Mecom attended the NFC Championship Game in the Superdome), Mecom expressed that ownership "wasn't a place for a romantic" while saying he had fun and learned life lessons as owner. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Saints</span> National Football League franchise in New Orleans, Louisiana

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South Division. Since 1975, the team plays its home games at Caesars Superdome after using Tulane Stadium during its first eight seasons. Founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966, the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Pelicans (baseball)</span> Minor league baseball team

The New Orleans Pelicans or "Pels" were a minor league professional baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans VooDoo</span> Arena football team

The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Benson</span> American businessman and pro sports executive

Thomas Milton Benson, Jr. was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) in 1985 and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesars Superdome</span> Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bum Phillips</span> American football coach (1923–2013)

Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips Jr. was an American football coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980 and the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1985.

This article details the history of the New Orleans Saints, an American football team in the NFL, which was organized in 1967 and is based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

John David Roberts was an American college and professional football coach. He was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) from the middle of the 1970 season until his dismissal after four preseason games in 1973. He played college ball for the Oklahoma Sooners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in New Orleans</span>

New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic and horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Course. New Orleans has also occasionally hosted the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal game and the NCAA college basketball Final Four.

John Whitfield Mecom Sr., was an American independent oilman.

David Frank Dixon was an American businessman and sports executive who helped create the New Orleans Saints NFL team, the Louisiana Superdome, World Championship Tennis (WCT) and the original version of the United States Football League (USFL).

Robert Edward Whitlow was an American professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints</span>

Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. As a result, the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints were unable to play any home games at the Superdome for the entire 2005 NFL regular season. The dome was also used as a storm shelter for people who were unable to evacuate the city before the storm.

The 1985 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 19th season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 New Orleans Saints season</span> NFL team season

The 1984 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 18th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 8–8, winning only seven games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eighteenth consecutive season. The Saints started out winning three of their first five games. However, the Saints would struggle as newly acquired quarterback Richard Todd threw 19 interceptions to just 11 touchdowns as the Saints again finished the season with a losing record at 7-9. It was in week 6 against the Bears that Walter Payton passed Jim Brown to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Rose</span> American football player

Bert E. Rose Jr. was an American football executive who served as the first general manager of the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and Texas Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champions Square</span>

Champions Square is an outdoor festival plaza located adjacent to Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is known as the premier tailgating space for sports events held at the stadium and the nearby Smoothie King Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New Orleans Saints season</span> NFL team season

The 2018 season was the New Orleans Saints' 52nd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and their 12th under head coach Sean Payton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayle Benson</span> American businesswoman (born 1947)

Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird Benson is an American businesswoman who is the owner of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). She became the principal owner of the Saints and Pelicans following the death of her husband, Tom Benson, in 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "Bloomberg Executive Profile". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  2. ↑ "John W. Mecom Jr. An Inventory of His Papers". Texas Archival Resources Online. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Minetree, Harry (June 23, 1975). "John Mecom Jr. Prepares to Battle the U.s. to Keep Exotic Animals on His Texas Ranch". People. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Road Racing Drivers Club, John Mecom" . Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "NFL Screening Group Interviews Hopefuls". The Shreveport Times . December 9, 1966. Retrieved January 19, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "John W. Mecom Jr. An Inventory of His Papers". Texas Archival Resources Online. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  7. ↑ https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/timeline-of-saints-history-in-new-orleans-john-mecom-jr-the-bensons-san-antonio-and/article_711d98da-218a-11ec-9b92-0331a8985887.html
  8. ↑ https://www.hnoc.org/interactive/crescent-city-sport/oral-histories/marching-in-uniform.html
  9. ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/executives/MecoJo0.htm
  10. ↑ https://www.wwltv.com/article/sports/nfl/saints/saints-first-owner-reflects-on-50-years-of-football/289-315286957
  11. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Deal Made for Saints". New York Times. 13 March 1985. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  12. ↑ https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/saints-edwin-edwards-championed-the-interest-of-tom-benson-to-buy-the-team/article_bfad4f1c-e35b-11eb-abb1-1ba34ac76929.html
  13. ↑ https://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Houstonian-still-a-fan-years-after-selling-Saints-1708417.php


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.