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Posted

I read online that Pettis Norman died the other day at age 86.   A Dallas Cowboy in the 1960s, I remembered that my dad once told me a story about meeting Pettis during National Guard activities, in the mid 1960s.  My dad is 89, and no longer drives so when I visit, I drive him to the grocery store, dr visits.  We were driving the other day and I mentioned Pettis dying and he remembered the Annual Training in the Guard in the 60s when he put 6 Dallas Cowboys through the gas chamber.  

It was my dad's first Annual Training with the 36th Infantry Division and he was the chemical officer in charge of the gas chamber and other things.  My dad is mentally very sharp and also talked about spending five days in flamethrower training.  He said that was one of the summers when they put everybody in the entire division through the gas chamber.  

Anyway so we're talking and Dad remembered Pettis as a tight end and remarked that he remembered one other Dallas Cowboy, but not his name.  Dad said he was that "really fast guy".  

"Bob Hayes?"  I asked.  "You put Bob Hayes through the gas chamber?"    "Yes, Bob had a little bit of trouble, didn't put the mask on correctly".  

Got me to thinking, wondering how many old Dallas Cowboys are left from the 1960s.  Obvious two big ones are Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly.

 

.  

 

 

  • Hook 'Em 3
Posted
2 hours ago, JGrayDBU said:

I read online that Pettis Norman died the other day at age 86.   A Dallas Cowboy in the 1960s, I remembered that my dad once told me a story about meeting Pettis during National Guard activities, in the mid 1960s.  My dad is 89, and no longer drives so when I visit, I drive him to the grocery store, dr visits.  We were driving the other day and I mentioned Pettis dying and he remembered the Annual Training in the Guard in the 60s when he put 6 Dallas Cowboys through the gas chamber.  

It was my dad's first Annual Training with the 36th Infantry Division and he was the chemical officer in charge of the gas chamber and other things.  My dad is mentally very sharp and also talked about spending five days in flamethrower training.  He said that was one of the summers when they put everybody in the entire division through the gas chamber.  

Anyway so we're talking and Dad remembered Pettis as a tight end and remarked that he remembered one other Dallas Cowboy, but not his name.  Dad said he was that "really fast guy".  

"Bob Hayes?"  I asked.  "You put Bob Hayes through the gas chamber?"    "Yes, Bob had a little bit of trouble, didn't put the mask on correctly".  

Got me to thinking, wondering how many old Dallas Cowboys are left from the 1960s.  Obvious two big ones are Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly.

 

.  

 

 

A very under appreciated athlete for the stands he took in Dallas and what it cost him.

Curious how many here know the connection between Norman and "North Dallas 40".

Posted
4 hours ago, PGFrog said:

A very under appreciated athlete for the stands he took in Dallas and what it cost him.

Curious how many here know the connection between Norman and "North Dallas 40".

I don't.  What is the story?

Posted
7 hours ago, PGFrog said:

A very under appreciated athlete for the stands he took in Dallas and what it cost him.

Curious how many here know the connection between Norman and "North Dallas 40".

Pete Gent wrote it, and I believe he was a TE for the cowboys.  Wasn't Pettis a TE as well?

Posted
On 7/11/2025 at 11:13 AM, JGrayDBU said:

I don't.  What is the story?

Sorry, was looking for a book that I have that provided some of the details as I don't want to mis represent, but I think one of my kids has it.

Younger posters on this board might be shocked to know that back in the day, all parts of Dallas weren't a welcoming place to the new Cowboys.  

The practice was that if you were a new player of color who came to the club, you would be directed to the Cedar Crest neighborhood in South Central Dallas.  Don Perkins was interviewed by the Washington Post and he talked about the poor conditions of the homes available in this area at the time. 

Mel Renfro tried to move his family to an apartment complex in North Dallas, near the Cowboys' practice facility, but the deal got scrapped at the end  and Renfro actually sued siting discrimination.

There have been multiple explanations for what North Dallas 40 meant and one is that supposedly there was an unwritten acknowledgement that no sale or rental of a residential property would involved persons of color north of that point.

Norman got involved with real estate development and was part of building at least one apartment complex in North Dallas that would provide quality living environment from persons of color.

I am sure I botched that up and was hoping to get the details correct, but Norman is a forgotten person in the civil rights history of Dallas. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
On 7/12/2025 at 1:20 PM, PGFrog said:

Sorry, was looking for a book that I have that provided some of the details as I don't want to mis represent, but I think one of my kids has it.

Younger posters on this board might be shocked to know that back in the day, all parts of Dallas weren't a welcoming place to the new Cowboys.  

The practice was that if you were a new player of color who came to the club, you would be directed to the Cedar Crest neighborhood in South Central Dallas.  Don Perkins was interviewed by the Washington Post and he talked about the poor conditions of the homes available in this area at the time. 

Mel Renfro tried to move his family to an apartment complex in North Dallas, near the Cowboys' practice facility, but the deal got scrapped at the end  and Renfro actually sued siting discrimination.

There have been multiple explanations for what North Dallas 40 meant and one is that supposedly there was an unwritten acknowledgement that no sale or rental of a residential property would involved persons of color north of that point.

Norman got involved with real estate development and was part of building at least one apartment complex in North Dallas that would provide quality living environment from persons of color.

I am sure I botched that up and was hoping to get the details correct, but Norman is a forgotten person in the civil rights history of Dallas. 

That makes sense and coincidentally enough, I taught school in a far north Dallas area, which was served by Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. 

This was much later than Pettis Norm's influence of course, from 2001 to 2010.  Our school consisted of a strange combination of high-end homes, regular apartments, and one very unusual apartment that was right across the street from school, government housing. 

My last week at that school, a power greater than us was telling me it was indeed a good decision to leave that school at that time. 

Within the week we had

              a. school vandalism over the weekend

              b. a bomb threat before school and everybody did a fantastic job evacuating the building, to the very rear of the property. and 

               c.  Mother against the other woman violence in the parking lot, and Dallas police had to be called to the scene. 

 

 

 

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