Happy Birthday -- The story of New Orleans being awarded the Saints (1 Viewer)

Dan in Lafayette

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The story of New Orleans being awarded the Saints

By Peter Finney, Jr. -- Special to the Picayune



By Peter Finney Jr., Special to NewOrleansSaints.com

Frank Dixon was a sophomore at Jesuit High School in 1966 when his father Dave, the incurable optimist and visionary, got the word from NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle: After years of showcasing the Crescent City as a potentially powerhouse pro football market, Dave Dixon and the equally powerful Louisiana Congressional delegation had delivered on their decade-long quest to acquire an NFL expansion franchise for New Orleans.

And now, the announcement was set, for Nov. 1, 1966 – All Saints Day – in a city where Catholicism, St. Louis Cathedral and football are embroidered into one seamless garment.

Frank Dixon was supposed to be at Jesuit for an All Saints Day Mass for the student body, followed by early dismissal, but leaning on his family’s salesmanship genes, he convinced his father to let him attend the NFL press conference at the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles Avenue.

“I was dressed in my Jesuit uniform,” recalled Frank, a commercial and residential realtor for Dorian Bennett Sotheby’s International Realty in New Orleans. “My mom (Mary) was the only woman in the room, and I was the only teenager. We stood in the back of the room with my dad.”

MORE -- Picayune
 
I thought this was a good read. It shows just how the sausage is made in D.C. I was 11 at the time and as excited as could be as was the entire city and state.
 
"Saga of the Saints" by Wayne Mack also chronicled the makings of the Saints in New Orleans. It's a bit dated now, having been released at the end of the 1991 season, but also a great read.

That was a great read. I look at it quite often still. Did a check and there are 34 used copies on Amazon. Only 15,000 were printed. I highly recommend it.
 
The Communion hymn at St.Louis Cathedral 2/7/10. Been my favorite ever since.

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
 
I thought this was a good read. It shows just how the sausage is made in D.C. I was 11 at the time and as excited as could be as was the entire city and state.

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I got one year on ya!

I was 13 when the Saints played their 1st game!

(Boy, did I think the Saints were in for GREAT THINGS when the 1st ever opening kickoff was run back for a TD by John Gilliam!)

Happy Birthday, Saints!

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"Saga of the Saints" by Wayne Mack also chronicled the makings of the Saints in New Orleans. It's a bit dated now, having been released at the end of the 1991 season, but also a great read.

That was a great read. I look at it quite often still. Did a check and there are 34 used copies on Amazon. Only 15,000 were printed. I highly recommend it.

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Thanks for the heads-up and link!

(I just ordered a copy!)

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