| | MISSION, Texas -- Before Tom Landry became coach of the
Dallas Cowboys, he was part of a South Texas high school football
team that went 12-0 and captured a regional championship in 1941.
Nearly 60 years later, this community of 40,000 just north of
the Mexico border, on the western edge of the Rio Grande Valley, is
still proud to claim Landry as its own. On Sunday, many residents
mourned the death of the former coach by visiting a downtown mural
in his honor.
"He was a Mission Eagle before he was the great coach that he
was," said Gracie Gomez, a longtime Mission resident who brought
her sons and grandson to leave flowers near the mural. "It's good
to know that someone from Mission made it so big."
Landry died Saturday evening at a Dallas hospital. Although he'd
been ill for months, Mission residents were still saddened by the
news.
"He's like one of us," said Marco Ramos, Gomez's son. "He's a
Missionite. He's one of our heroes. He's a role model and example
for all of us."
The Landrys settled in Mission in 1912 when the family doctor in
Illinois recommended that warmer climate would be best for the
health of young Ray Landry, Tom's father.
It worked and Ray played football and baseball at the high
school, graduating in 1918. He went away to college, but returned
in 1920 with his new wife, Ruth, who had been his high school
sweetheart.
Ray Landry became a mechanic and respected chief of Mission's
volunteer fire department. A park is named in his honor. The high
school football field is named for his son, Tom.
Tom was born in Mission in 1924, the third of four Landry
children. He played several positions for the Mission Eagles before
becoming a star at the University of Texas and later a defensive
back for the New York Giants.
The downtown mural, located on the side of a store on a street
named for Landry, depicts several highlights of his life. The
sidewalk in front of the painting contains the footprints of
several former Cowboys.
The mural is dominated by the well-known image of a stone-faced
Landry with his arms folded, wearing a business suit and his
trademark fedora. He's also shown in his Giants uniform and there
are images of the Landry family house in Mission, Texas Stadium and
the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Several fans who visited Sunday left flowers, including
blue-and-white bouquets. Two white candles and a blue one were
placed on top of a piece of paper with a drawing of the Cowboys'
star and the words: "You brought honor and dignity to the game.
You will not be forgotten."
John and Celeste Thell drove to Mission from nearby Donna to
show the mural to friends Ralph and Ruby Nation.
"I think that speaks for itself," said John Thell, a Vikings
fan from Minnesota. "That'll keep him in somebody's mind
forever."
Ralph Nation, a Chiefs fan from Kansas, said he understood the
pride Mission residents take in Landry.
"Many great men are from small backgrounds," Nation said.
"It's hometown appreciation. That's what this is all about."
Gomez certainly knows about that. When Jerry Jones bought the
Cowboys in 1989 and promptly fired Landry, she refused to watch a
Cowboys game for a year.
Ramos also feels that loyalty and is certain no one will ever
forget Landry.
"As long as there are Cowboys ... as long as there's the city
of Mission, Tom Landry will not be forgotten," Ramos said. | |
ALSO SEE
Former Cowboys coach Landry dead at 75
|
