John W. Mecom Jr.

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John W. Mecom Jr. (born 1940

NFL
football team.

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

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]

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. 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


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