David Dixon (businessman)
Encyclopedia
David 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 United States Football League
(USFL). An alumnus of Tulane University
, Dixon created the New Orleans Professional Football Club, Inc., to lobby for an AFL franchise for that city starting in 1962, and also sought an NFL expansion team.
After persuading the AFL to play its 1965 All-Star game in New Orleans, Dixon experienced a setback when black players encountered discrimination in the French Quarter. The AFL moved the game to Houston. Later in the year, Dixon first proposed a football league, also called the USFL, that played its games in the spring rather than the fall.
to endorse financing of a domed stadium, New Orleans voters approved funding to construct the Superdome. Along with John W. Mecom, Dixon became a part owner of the Saints.
. After signing John Newcombe to a professional contract, Dixon persuaded many of the world's best male tennis players to turn pro. Tennis, formerly limited to amateur players, soon admitted professionals and the popularity of the game grew dramatically.
In 2008, he published an autobiography The Saints, The Superdome, and the Scandal: An Insider's Perspective.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
team, the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
, World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990...
(WCT) and the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
(USFL). An alumnus of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, Dixon created the New Orleans Professional Football Club, Inc., to lobby for an AFL franchise for that city starting in 1962, and also sought an NFL expansion team.
After persuading the AFL to play its 1965 All-Star game in New Orleans, Dixon experienced a setback when black players encountered discrimination in the French Quarter. The AFL moved the game to Houston. Later in the year, Dixon first proposed a football league, also called the USFL, that played its games in the spring rather than the fall.
New Orleans Saints
On November 1, 1966, Dixon's efforts paid off when the NFL awarded its 16th franchise to New Orleans. On November 8, after Dixon had persuaded Governor John McKeithenJohn McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
to endorse financing of a domed stadium, New Orleans voters approved funding to construct the Superdome. Along with John W. Mecom, Dixon became a part owner of the Saints.
World Championship Tennis (WCT)
In 1967, future USFL founder Dixon persuaded AFL founder Lamar Hunt to finance World Championship TennisWorld Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990...
. After signing John Newcombe to a professional contract, Dixon persuaded many of the world's best male tennis players to turn pro. Tennis, formerly limited to amateur players, soon admitted professionals and the popularity of the game grew dramatically.
United States Football League
Starting in 1980, Dixon was again proposing a pro football league that played its games in the spring and summer. On May 11, 1982, Dixon was able to announce the formation of the 12-team league, which played for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. After becoming the founder of the USFL, Dixon sold his franchise rights and departed the league.Later career
After the USFL voted to switch to a fall schedule, Dixon made several attempts to revive spring football. In 1985, he gave a speech at the Harvard Business School, proposing "America's Football Teams, Inc.", a professional league that would sell shares of stock as part of a ticket purchase. After the Fox Television Network was launched in 1987, Dixon proposed the "American Football Federation", which would have 10 teams and draft academically ineligible high school graduates. In 1996, Dixon announced the "FanOwnership Football League", whose teams played from September to March and would sell 70 percent of their stock to the general public. None of Dixon's proposals got beyond the planning stages.In 2008, he published an autobiography The Saints, The Superdome, and the Scandal: An Insider's Perspective.