Amon Carter was drunk (maybe), poked the governor, got ejected from a football game
BY DAVE LIEBER
Was Amon Carter “drunk as a biled owl?”
That’s what impeached former Gov. Pa Ferguson said about his arch enemy.
It was Thanksgiving Day 1925, and Amon was roaming the football sidelines cheering for Texas A&M against University of Texas.
Amon Carter loved to make a spectacle of himself at college football games.
When Amon got close to Pa Ferguson, sitting with his wife, Ma, who was governor at the time (long story), Amon let it rip. He shouted loud enough for them to hear:
HURRAH FOR A&M! HURRAH FOR DAN MOODY!
Moody was the attorney general and Ferguson foe whom Carter obviously supported.
Carter was ejected from the game by one of the governor’s bodyguards. According to Brian Cervantez’ book Amon Carter – A Lone Star Life, the incident riled the Fergusons.
They issued a statement criticizing “a big newspaper publisher in a North Texas city … who can dispense pints of liquor by the dozen, and under the influence of liquor, display himself in a public place.”
The unnamed publisher was “drunk as a biled owl.” And my favorite part: He accused Carter of giving his guests at a party the demon liquor by hiding it in 300 imitation bibles and 300 imitation canes.
Their battle continued. Ma sent a letter to the editor libeling Amon and demanding he resign from his position on the board of trustees of Texas Tech, which Amon helped create exactly a century ago. (Happy birthday.)
Amon ordered the letter be published in his newspaper and asked his fellow newspaper publishers to do the same. Many did, including The New York Times, as shown below.
Carter responded by calling the matter a smoke screen to divert attention from the Fergusons’ scandalous behavior. He denied being drunk at the game.
He said the fake bibles and canes were not a problem because “present with this party were members of the law enforcement departments of both county and city.” (Read that line again.)
With all this national attention, Carter received a lot of mail. A Cleveland man wrote: “Ma Ferguson certainly made you a greater national character if such a thing is possible. You already are a national institution.”
Amon to that.
Why would I write a play about the real Amon Carter scheduled to reopen at Artisan Center Theater in Hurst, TX for shows in 2022 on Aug. 27, Sept. 3 nd 10? Because as good as this Ma and Pa Ferguson story is, it didn’t make my play, AMON! The Ultimate Texan. The other stories are even better!
Visit AmonPlay.com for ticket and play and book information..
“Theater is the oldest way we have of trying to tell the truth about who we are.” — the late playwright, Terrence McNally.
NEW! Read how Amon stole a lot from Dallas, including Gary Cooper.
NEW! Amon and the pajamas story
NEW! Read about Amon’s favorite paperboy
NEW! Read about the man who loved Amon Carter so he named his son after him.
NEW! Interview with playwright Dave Lieber
