Coca-Cola Bowl Season Hall of Fame
ORGANIZATION(S): Cotton Bowl
For the better part of four decades, the name Field Scovell was tossed around press boxes and athletic offices as reverently and with as much frequency as any of the great football legends of the 20th Century. Everyone knew and loved Field Scovell. After all, he was the consummate public relations man and the patriarch of the Dallas sporting community. His famous “Howdy, Podner” greeting, his spontaneous one-liners and the crunch of his handshake opened countless doors for the City of Dallas. Mr. Scovell combined an athletic background with his magnetic personality and a keen sense of humor that many said would make Bob Hope envious. And, he blended it all together in his job as “Mr. Cotton Bowl.”
Born in Wichita Falls on March 1, 1907, and raised in Dallas from the age of 10, the name Field Scovell first found it’s way into print in the “Roaring 20s” as an All-City and All-State end with the North Dallas High School Bulldogs. Upon graduation, Mr. Scovell attended Texas A&M and played football for three seasons under legendary head coach D.X. Bible before the stock market crash of 1929 sent him into the job market during the Great Depression.
His relationship with the Cotton Bowl Classic began in the mid-1950s when he was appointed to serve on the game’s entertainment committee. In 1963, he was invited to join Felix McKnight as the Classic’s Co-Chair of Team Selection.
Ten years later, he was elected CBAA Chair and when his two-year term expired, Mr. Scovell assumed the role of Team Selection Chair, a post he held from 1975 to 1992. Mr. Cotton Bowl never missed a trick in wooing prospective coaches, athletic directors, presidents and influential alumni to Dallas. From memory he could recite birthdays, favorite foods and any other tidbit of information that might prove beneficial to the Cotton Bowl Classic.
His endless hours of travel, letter writing, telephone conversations and entertaining were a labor of love for Mr. Scovell and his family. Nothing was too much effort if it helped his hometown and the Cotton Bowl Classic gain a competitive advantage. It was another great example of the patented “Scovell Touch.”
“I’m in debt to this city, and I have this great fear that I won’t live long enough to pay it back,” he often said. “I owe a lot of folks. When I came to this town, people gave me opportunities. I feel so indebted to this town. I think it’s the greatest city in the world. I’m very biased. I know that. But, I don’t plan to change.”
Fortunately, he never changed. Mr. Scovell left his mark on everything he touched. Today, the Field Scovell Foundation awards scholarships in his name to deserving high school students throughout the North Texas region. And, every year his enduring legacy is honored by the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic when the championship team is awarded the Field Scovell Trophy.
