Father's Day Donuts: Top 10 Father-Son Duos in DFW Sports History
One of these days, they’ll be Stephen Jones’ Dallas Cowboys.
Until then, the heir to the throne of Jerry Jones’ America’s Team can rest comfortably in his place as half of the most successful Father-Son duo in Dallas-Fort Worth sports history.
Through the years we’ve had direct blood lines coursing through the controls of our teams at the same time (Don and Donnie Nelson leading the Dallas Mavericks). We’ve also enjoyed, as our stars, both dads (Bobby Bonds) of more accomplished offspring and vice-versa (Ken Norton Jr.). And in our midst (Tim Hardaway Jr.) and on our horizon (Bobby Witt Jr. and Shedeur Sanders) are talented sons that might ultimately lap their prodigious and proud papas.
But until the Hall of Fame owner (Jerry is 77) bestows the keys to the kingdom to his oldest son (Stephen turns 56 on Sunday), the Cowboys combo will celebrate another Father’s Day at the top of our familial feats. For now, the other local Father-Son teams are – sure enough – trying to keep up with The Joneses.
While Tom Landry Jr., Bob Lilly Jr. and Jeff Staubach are all wildly successful businessmen in DFW, Jerry trained his son in the family dealings. He was only 53 when the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX for their third championship in four years; Stephen a mere 31. Their reputations may have wobbled during the Cowboys’ quarter-century drought, but together they’ve maintained the football franchise as one of the world’s most visible and viable brands.
“Let’s face it, I’m fortunate to have a fabulous father,” Stephen told me during an interview a couple years ago. “We’re best friends, not just father-son. He took from the beginning and molded me in a very positive way. It’s a privilege to walk in my dad’s footsteps.”
There is an abundance of greatness in our local genes.
Emmitt Smith’s son, EJ, will be a running back at Stanford in the fall. Pudge Rodriguez’s son, Dereck, won six games as a pitcher for the Padres in 2018. Michael Irvin’s son, Michael II, will start at tight end for Florida Atlantic. Former Texas Rangers Tom Grieve, Jeff Burroughs, Fernando Tatis, Vladimir Guerrero and Bobby Bonds all had sons make it to the majors, the latter spawning one of the greatest players to ever swing a bat (Barry). And our lineage isn’t complete, with NextGen stars such as Witt Jr. and Shedeur poised to excel in dad’s shadow. Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage High School) was the No. 2 overall pick in last week’s Major League Baseball Draft, while Shedeur (Cedar Hill Trinity Christian Academy) is a four-star quarterback prospect that was recently tutored by Tom Brady and has 20+ scholarship offers including Alabama, Baylor, LSU, Michigan, UCLA and Penn State.
Here's two great honorable mentions:
Cecil and Prince Fielder, baseball – Slugging is in their DNA, evidenced by dad’s 50 homers in 1990 and World Series ring in 1996 and son’s 50 homers in 2007 and 23 more in 2015 when he won AL Comeback Player of the Year for the Rangers.
Gus and Buddy Bell, baseball – Son won six consecutive Gold Gloves at third base for the Rangers in the 1970s-80s, following dad’s four-time All-Star career with Reds.
Close but not quite.
The Joneses may not boast a family tree blooming brighter than Archie/Peyton/Eli Manning, Dale/Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ken/Ken Griffey Jr., Dell/Steph/Seth Curry, Joe/Kobe Bryant or Howie/Chris/Kyle Long, but they are again in 2020 the best of our best.
The Top 10 Father-Son Connections in DFW Sports History
DONUT 10. Calvin and Grant Hill, football/basketball – In their prime they were both All-Stars: Dad as a four-time Pro Bowler and the first Cowboy to rush for 1,000 yards; Son a two-time national champion at Duke and seven-time All-NBA selection.
DONUT 9. Ken and Ken Norton Jr., boxing/football – Both punished opponents: Dad as a world heavyweight boxing champion that defeated Muhammad Ali and son as a linebacker that won two Super Bowl rings for the Cowboys.
DONUT 8. Bobby and Brett Hull, hockey – Hall-of-fame hockey royalty, highlighted by dad’s two MVPs and son’s Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Dallas Stars in 1999.
DONUT 7. Bobby and Bobby Witt Jr., baseball – Last week they became the first father-son duo selected in the first round of Major League Baseball’s draft: Dad was third overall by the Rangers in 1985 and son going second to the Kansas City Royals.
DONUT 6. Mike and Mike Bacsik – Both had cups of coffee for the Rangers, with dad going 4-4 in the mid-70s and son 1-1 in 2004.
DONUT 5. Steve and Shane Buechele – Dad hit 94 homers in eight seasons as a slick-fielding third baseman for the Rangers; son is the high-octane SMU quarterback gracing the cover of this year’s Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine.
DONUT 4. Tim and Tim Hardaway Jr., Mavericks – Both played guard alongside Dirk Nowitzki, dad in 2002 and junior while averaging 15 points over the last two seasons.
DONUT 3. Jim and Jason Garrett, Cowboys – Dad was a scout spanning Tom Landry to Bill Parcells. Son was the head coach that won three division championships in 10 seasons.
DONUT 2. Don and Donnie Nelson, Mavericks – Son, still the general manager, discovered Dirk. Dad, en route to being NBA’s all-time winningest head coach, drafted and molded him.
DONUT 1. Jerry and Stephen Jones, Cowboys – Spanning 32 years as DFW’s first family of football, they’ve produced three Super Bowls along with unprecedented popularity and profit.
