Bill Text: TX HR1911 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Jack Pardee, renowned football player and coach.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-16 - Reported enrolled [HR1911 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR1911-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1911 |
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WHEREAS, The life of a gridiron legend drew to a close with | ||
the passing on April 1, 2013, of renowned football player and coach | ||
Jack Pardee; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born on April 19, 1936, in Iowa, Jack Pardee was the | ||
youngest of Earl and Lameda Pardee's six children; after the family | ||
moved to Texas and settled in Christoval, Mr. Pardee worked in the | ||
oil fields as a teenager and played football for the six-man team at | ||
Christoval High School; during his senior season in 1952, he scored | ||
57 touchdowns, helping the Cougars to become regional champions, | ||
and he is considered one of the greatest six-man players in the | ||
history of Texas high school athletics; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Pardee went on to attend Texas A&M University, | ||
where he became one of Coach Bear Bryant's "Junction Boys," so named | ||
for the Texas Hill Country town where the coach conducted a grueling | ||
training camp in 1954; Mr. Pardee played three seasons for the | ||
Aggies, serving as a captain in 1956, when the team was ranked fifth | ||
in the nation, and the talented scholar-athlete was named an | ||
All-American and Academic All-American; and | ||
WHEREAS, Drafted by the National Football League's Los | ||
Angeles Rams in 1957, Mr. Pardee played linebacker for the team | ||
until 1964, when he briefly retired to receive treatment for | ||
melanoma; he returned for five more seasons with the Rams, and he | ||
finished his playing career with the Washington Redskins in 1972; | ||
his 15 years in the league were highlighted by an exceptional season | ||
in 1963, when he was named a first-team All-Pro player and took part | ||
in the Pro Bowl; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Pardee continued his successful football career | ||
by transitioning to coaching; he began by leading a World Football | ||
League team, the Florida Blazers, then coached the Chicago Bears | ||
from 1975 to 1977, guiding the team to the playoffs for the first | ||
time since 1963; he took the helm with the Redskins from 1978 to | ||
1980, and he was named NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press | ||
in 1979; and | ||
WHEREAS, After working for a season as an assistant coach | ||
with the San Diego Chargers, he became head coach of the Houston | ||
Gamblers of the U.S. Football League for two years before being | ||
hired as the head coach for the University of Houston; during his | ||
tenure at UH in the late 1980s, he installed the high-powered "run | ||
and shoot" offense, and his team made NCAA history when it became | ||
the first squad to finish with more than 1,000 yards of offense in a | ||
single game; among the players Mr. Pardee mentored at the | ||
university was Andre Ware, the first African American quarterback | ||
to win the Heisman Trophy; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1990, Mr. Pardee returned to the NFL to coach the | ||
Houston Oilers, leading the team to four consecutive playoff | ||
appearances; he concluded his work with the Oilers in 1994 and | ||
coached the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League | ||
for a year before retiring to his cattle ranch in Gause; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Pardee's accomplishments as a player and coach | ||
were honored with a number of accolades, including induction into | ||
the College Football Hall of Fame and Coach of the Year awards for | ||
his work in the NCAA Southwest Conference, the NFL, the World | ||
Football League, and the USFL; in all his endeavors, he enjoyed the | ||
love and support of his wife, Phyllis, with whom he shared 56 years | ||
of marriage and raised five children; and | ||
WHEREAS, A superb athlete and an innovative coach, Jack | ||
Pardee excelled in both roles, and his impressive contributions to | ||
the sport of football over the course of more than four decades won | ||
the respect of his players and peers, as well as countless sports | ||
fans in the Lone Star State and beyond; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Jack Pardee and extend | ||
sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife, Phyllis; | ||
to his children, Steven Pardee, Judee Peterson and her husband, | ||
Bruce, Anne Pardee, Susan Brown and her husband, Scott, and Ted | ||
Pardee and his wife, Elizabeth; to his grandchildren, Trevor | ||
Pardee, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Jake Peterson, Matthew, Kelly, | ||
Madeline, Caroline, and Chase Brown, and Ellie, Payton, and Luke | ||
Pardee; to his brother, Bob Pardee; and to his other relatives, many | ||
friends, and former colleagues and players; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Jack | ||
Pardee. | ||
Darby | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1911 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on May 15, 2013. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||