Dave Dixon helped bring professional football to New Orleans. He led the fight for the building of the Superdome. He changed the face of professional tennis. And he fathered the United States Football League.
For these accomplishments, Dixon was presented a Jimmy Collins Award in 1984Â by the Sugar Bowl Sports Awards Committee.
A graduate of Tulane, at one time a top amateur golfer, Dixon began working on securing a professional football franchise for the city in the mid-sixties. At the time, there were those who doubted whether enough barriers could be torn down to land an NFL franchise for a city that had known nothing but college football. He began by persuading Tulane to make the Sugar Eowl available for exhibition games and, later, by securing permission for Sunday football in the stadium. It was a vital hurdle.
His long fight ended in 1966 when the National Football League awarded the city a franchise which began playing the following year under owner John Mecom, Jr. Following a suggestion by Dixon, the team got its name from the jazzy "When the Saints Go Marching In."
Once this was accomplished, Dixon turned his energies to professional tennis, pioneering a move to change the dress from traditional all-white, also starting in motion a series of tournaments that eventually became World Championship Tennis.
Beginning in the early seventies, when the feeling was an all-purpose domed stadium would become nothing more that a white elephant, he sold his stadium idea to Governor John McKeithen, whose political-clout made the idea a reality, forever changing the New Orleans skyline, triggering a building boom in the downtown business district, making the city a regular as a Super Bowl site.
As of 1984, the Superdome had hosted two Super Bowls and will again host the championship game in 1986. It has also hosted the NCAA basketball championships in 1982, pulling a record crowd for basketball, 65,000. The Final Four will return to the Dome in 1987.
Dixon fought hard for a 75,000 seat stadium, explaining, "We will build one bigger and better that the Astrodome."
He saw his dream realized when the Dome opened its doors in 1975.
Dixon's concept for a professional football league in the spring and summer was first offered in the mid-sixties, during his fight for an NFL franchise. He revived the idea four years ago, and, last March (1983), the USFL opened as a 12-team league and with an ABC television contract.
"The two years I spent putting the league together were the most hectic of my life," says Dixon. "When it finally got off the ground, it made all the hard work worthwhile. When I think how many times everything came close to falling apart, I get anxiety pains. When I first broached the idea to George Allen, he told me he.wanted to be part of it. When the league opened, George was part of it (as coach of the Chicago franchise) and so was Hershel Walker. Who would have thought of it?"
The USFL set up shop in New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver, Oakland, Tampa, Birmingham, and Phoenix. This season (1984), the league expanded to six other cities – San Antonio, Jacksonville, Tulsa, Houston, Pittsburgh and Memphis.
The Boston Breakers became the New Orleans Breakers, giving the city its second professional football team.
A French Quarter art dealer, Dixon said the idea of reviving his plan for a spring and summer league came to him while flying to Philadelphia for an art show. "I read this story about the awarding of a cable television franchise and it suddenly dawned on me cable was going to be a major economic force," says Dixon.
He began contacting prospective owners. One was John Bassett, a one-time owner in the World Football League. "When I opened the conversation," Dixon recalled, "he thought I was nuts. By the end of lunch, he asked, 'where do I sign?"'
Just one more story of Dave Dixon, super salesman.
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