Jerral Wayne Jones, Sr.

Jerral "Jerry" Jones was born in 1942 in Los Angeles, shortly before his parents moved back to their home state of Arkansas. "My parents were entrepreneurs," he says. "They opened a small grocery store in Little Rock, and we lived next door. Later, they opened a little bit bigger store, and we lived above it. It was an exciting time to grow up. The soldiers were coming back from the war, and businesses were being started. It was a time when you felt that if you just worked hard enough, then you had real opportunity. That was instilled in me at a very early age."

From the time he was in sixth grade, Jones had to work in the store for two hours a day after school. "In December, I sold Christmas trees, and in the summer, I scooped ice cream," he says. "I also stocked shelves and did inventory, which was sometimes an all-night job. I grumbled once about always having to work, and my father told me that concerned him. He said that he wanted me not only to learn how to work, but also to not resent working. So I was blessed at an early age with some good coaching regarding a strong work ethic."

Jones's parents encouraged him to pursue his love of sports. In high school, he became an all-star football player. Once during a high school championship game, Jerry was moved from his usual position of running back to that of guard. "I got beat up in the game pretty bad," he says. "I came home and went straight to bed, feeling bad about losing the game and resenting my changed position on the team. My father came in looking for me, and when he found me in bed, he said, '˜Son, do you love football?' I told him I did. '˜Then what are you doing in this bed?' he asked. '˜If you lie in this bed, you are going to be a loser for the rest of your life. Now get up, and if they ask you to be the water boy, then drown them with the damn water!' I've always remembered that little bit of coaching."

Jones's skills on the football field earned him a scholarship to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where college football hall of fame Coach Frank Broyles had a significant influence on his life. Jones played varsity football all four years, a testament to his skills. As a senior, he co-captained the team that won the 1964 college football national championship. Jones had married his wife, Gene, the year before, and they had their first child when they were still undergraduates.

To support his family, Jones accelerated his education in order to complete his undergraduate studies in business administration while pursuing a master's in fine arts in 1964. He graduated with both degrees in 1965.

Throughout his college years, Jones sold insurance. Upon graduation, he became executive vice president of Modern Security Life Insurance. He also began investing in real estate. He was drawing his salary against his sales commission, but he took too many risks and became overextended. "Those were hard times right out of school," he says. "I remember flying into Dallas one day, and I went to rent a car. I handed the agent my credit card, and he looked at a list of names. When he found my name on the list, he cut my credit card in two. He told me, '˜Young man, you need to learn how to pay your bills.' That was a wake-up call for me. From then on, I became more prudent."

Jones worked his way out of his financial problems thanks to his successes in real estate. Next, he ventured into the oil and gas business. By the mid-1970s, he had become a major player in that industry as well as in banking and real estate.

By the late 1980s, Jones dreamed of buying the Dallas Cowboys. In 1989, he purchased the team as well as the lease to operate Texas Stadium. The Cowboys had not won a Super Bowl since 1977, and the franchise was losing more than $1 million a month. "Even though owning a football team was a lifelong dream of mine, I was pretty nervous in those early days of what I had taken on," he recalls. "The sound of one cricket in the middle of the night was enough to get me up out of bed, wondering what I was going to do to generate some revenue."

Four years after Jones became owner and general manager of the Cowboys, the team won the 1992 Super Bowl. Following that victory, he shared the microphone with President Bill Clinton at the White House. "We just wanted to prove to the country, Mr. President, that everyone can get up off the ground, brush themselves off, and accomplish what they truly want, if they are willing to pay the price," Jones declared.

The Cowboys also won the Super Bowl in 1993 and 1995, making it the first team in National Football League (NFL) history to win three Super Bowls in a four-year period.

Jones is considered one of the NFL's most influential and active owners. In 1995, Financial World magazine recognized him as owner of the most valuable team in pro sports. In 1991, the Edelstein Pro Football Letter selected Jones the NFL's Owner of the Year. In 1994, he was among 10 executives presented with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young and Inc. magazine.

Jones is proud of the fact that his three children all work for the Cowboys organization. "Of all the things we've accomplished with the Cowboys, I am most proud that we've been able to do all this as a family," he says. "I worked alongside my father for many years, and I feel fortunate that my children have chosen to work alongside of me. I believe that if you invest your time wisely into the lives of your growing children, you will be repaid a million times over in the love and care that your offspring will provide to you forever. Professional success and accomplishment can only be enjoyed if the quality of a man's family is his foremost priority in life."

Jones emphasizes the importance of having passion for one's work. "Football is a passion for me," he says. "There isn't anything I'd rather do than put together a team that can execute a great game. It's more a privilege for me to do this than it is a job. I also believe there is no substitute for preparation, diligence, and performance. You can have two people with equal abilities, but they will separate themselves in the area of production simply by the degree of dedication and persistence that is displayed in their daily approach to their work. It's also important to remember where you have come from, especially if it was from adverse circumstances. I believe the lessons you learn under challenging circumstances prepare you for future success."

When asked about the secrets of success, Jones always goes back to his own upbringing. "The foundation for anything I have achieved in my professional career has come from the values I learned from my father at a very young age," he says. "Work as hard as you can, believe in yourself, and never give up on your quest to attain your goals."

Shortly after purchasing the Cowboys franchise, Jones established the Jerry Jones Minority Coaching Fellowship, which offers minority college football coaches the chance to work with the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff for six weeks at the team's summer training camp. The Jones family and the Cowboys have also enjoyed a partnership with the Salvation Army, celebrating the annual Red Kettle campaign kickoff with a nationally televised halftime show that has helped raise more than a billion dollars since 1997.

The Gene and Jerry Jones Family Charities have donated to a variety of causes and led an effort to raise $10 million for Catholic High School in Little Rock, the alma mater of Jones's two sons and his son-in-law.