When Brad Sham recently got the opportunity to return to the Cowboys' broadcast booth, he jumped at the chance. Although he enjoyed his three-year stint as the radio voice of the Texas Rangers, Texas Stadium was the place he longed to be. Sham's career in Dallas has spanned almost 30 years and he spent time as a news reporter and sports talk show host before moving into the Cowboys' booth in 1976. He experienced the Cowboys' glory years of the 1970's, the triumphs and disappointments of the 1980's and the franchises resurrection and two Super Bowl titles of the 1990's. Through all the changes, Brad Sham was there. So take some time and get to know the old, and new, voice of the Cowboys. We hope you find hime just as interesting adn congenial as we did.
YST: Tell us about your family.
"Peggy and I have been married 15 years ... believe me, I married way above myself! My son Paul is 8; he'll be 9 in September.
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YST: What do ya'll do as a family for fun?
"We might go to a theme park or a movie, and we love to read as a family or play board games. Paul and Peggy like to play Nintendo, and we love museums.
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YST: What was the last museum you went to?
" The Science Place in Dallas. This summer we're going to the Children's Museum in Boston. Fortunately, with my former baseball travel schedule, Paul and Peggy were able to come along. We've had the opportunity to find some really cool stuff.
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YST: Where did you grow up?
"I was born in Chicago, but we never lived anywhere longer than two years because of my dad's job. We lived in Alabama, Kansas, Puerto Rico and several other places. As a 9- or 10-year-old, I thought Puerto Rico was great fun. The public schools were Spanish, so I went to a private school. Living across from the beach and watching winter baseball was terribly interesting. I almost learned to speak Spanish, but lost it when we moved.
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YST: How did your parents influence you?
"I got being a sports fan from my mother. My mom is crazed -- to this day she loves anything that sweats. I got a lot of things from both dad and mom individually, but I got my value system from the two of them combined.
Dad traveled a lot, and until I was at least 8, you couldn't get me to pick up a ball or watch a ballgame. But, my grandfathers were both great sports fans. I remember living in Alabama when my grandfather asked me to play catch. I was more interested in reading at the time, but he said no grandson of his was going to grow up not playing sports. From that point on, I went to a lot of baseball games with my two grandfathers and my mother, and grew to love the game.
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YST: Where did you go to college?
"I graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1970. Like most people, I really started to grow up in college.
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YST: When did radio begin to be a part of your life?
"I was lucky to go to a high school that had a little FM radio station. That's where I got the bug and led me to pursue journalism. As a freshman at Mizzou I got a chance to work on the campus station, and discovered journalism, which differs from sportscasting. I found later that you could do both at the same time, and that was a treat.
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YST: How did your career progress to Dallas?
"In December 1970, I got a job as a news reporter with WRR AM, which doesn't exist anymore. I was there for almost five years and I started the first sports talk show on the air in Dallas. Then I went and did PR for soccer teams in Denver and Chicago. In the fall of '76 I moved over to KRLD and got to do color for the Cowboys. I was there until I went with the Cowboys in '91 to KVIL. When the Rangers job came open for '95, '96 and '97, I did that. And now, I'm back with KVIL and the Cowboys.
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YST: How does it make you feel to become the "Voice of the Cowboys" again?
"Of course I love it! Broadcasting the Cowboys all fell into place, and it puts me back doing what I loved before. Because of an unusual set of circumstances in 1995, I got a chance to broadcast major league baseball for the Rangers. But, as much as I love the game, the time on the road was difficult for my family.
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YST: Was Ron Chapman (KVIL broadcasting giant) a major influence in bringing you back to the Cowboys?
"Ron is the best person I've ever worked for. He's a very good friend, and has been so incredibly good to me throughout my years with KVIL and through this process. You haven't got enough space in this magazine for the good things I have to say about Ron Chapman.
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YST: How did the Cowboys job evolve?
"Quite often things just fall together. I was looking for work and called just to see if they had anything, and we stayed in touch. When they asked if I'd be interested in the Cowboys again, they didn't have to ask twice. Really, they barely had to ask once!
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YST: Are you a Cowboys fan?
" Well, sure I am, but not just because we live here or I work for them. I am a fan of the organization, and have personal ties to many poeple that I've worked with over the last 20 years with the Cowboys.
On the other hand, I grew up in Chicago and remain a Bears fan. I stood in my grandmother's kitchen listening to the Bears beat the Giants to win the NFL championship in 1963."
YST: Recall a vivid experience during your Cowboys career.
"The first one I always think of is the Redskins game in 1979, doing the play-by-play with (ex-Cowboy safety) Charlie Waters, who was injured that year. It was a 'do or die game' ... the winner would win the East and the loser wouldn't make the playoffs. It was maybe the best regular season game that's ever been played. It was back and forth, and the Cowboys won it at the very end. "
YST: Give us a quick Brad Sham impression of these people you've known in the Cowboys' organization ...
Tex Schramm:
Our experiences have spanned the scale of emotions. Like everybody who worked around Tex, I've had one major blow-up with him, which we worked through. Later we became very close and he taught me stuff that he didn't even know he was teaching me. I treasure his friendship, his counsel, and I admire the contributions that he made to the sport, the team and television sports. Many people don't realize Tex was the first to envision the Winter Olympics on television.
Clint Murchison:
I didn't know him well, but he's probably the most interesting person in the history of the franchise because he was so different than he looked. Clint was 5'6'' maybe and 160 pounds, with a buzz crewcut and white shirt and narrow tie. He looked like the quintessential accountant, yet, he was the biggest practical jokester. Obviously, his ownership style was very successful.
Tom Landry:
Tom is the kind of person that you'd want your children to emulate. As brilliant a football coach as he was, the things people remember most about Tom is the kind of human being he is. Tom and Staubach carried themselves with such dignity.
Roger Staubach:
Wow! He's a living cliche. Roger is everything he appears to be, which is simply a tremendous human being.
Dan Reeves:
A great guy with a terrific mind, and an outstanding football coach. I have a great personal memory during a call-in talk show when Dan was an assistant coach in the 70s. One woman called him and said, "I live in your neighborhood and I'm wondering if you're ever going to take down your Christmas lights." This was late in the football year, and he'd kept 'em up all year long.
Dan is a very innovative guy who got a lot of gimmicks from Tom Landry. Dan is soon going to have an interesting imprint on this franchise, because Dan is one of Chan Gailey's mentors. A lot of the things Dan got from Tom, Chan got from Dan, so we're going to get a full circle effect.
Walt Garrison:
Tough. What a tough, tough player he was. Walt Garrison was the guy you ALWAYS gave the football to if you had to make a couple of yards.
Danny White:
I really felt bad for Danny that he never got credit for being as good as he was in the circumstances that he was in. It wasn't easy to follow Roger. You can't name another quarterback that took his team to the conference championship his first three years as the starting quarterback. He's a guy who is remembered more negatively than positively, and shouldn't be.
Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson:
What a shame that he could not have realized earlier in his life the things that he knows now. He was a fundamental athlete, and one of the great draft choices the Cowboys ever made. When he goaded the Steelers prior to the Super Bowl by saying Bradshaw couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the "C" and the "T" was classic Hollywood. He did a wonderful job calculating his build-up as a national figure, but like any addict, he couldn't hold it together.
Troy Aikman:
He was in a unique position when he came in. He had to handle the mantle of being "The" Dallas Cowboy's quarterback, which he's done with great aplomb. You can not have a better friend than Troy Aikman.
Emmitt Smith:
He's had great accomplishments in everything he's ever done in his football career. People forget that he was drafted 17th because he was "too small" and "too slow", yet Emmitt has worked extremely hard to make himself a hall-of-famer. He's also been a very positive role model ... you can't find Emmitt doing anything that you'd be embarrassed if your kids knew about it.
Michael Irvin:
I've got a real soft spot for Michael. Michael's one of my favorites because I've never seen a really good player who worked harder on the field. He came from a family with like18 kids, so he really appreciates what he has and his position in life.
Bill Bates:
He is a classic example of what can happen to you in America if you just try. I remember Bill as a free agent who had NO chance -- too slow, too small -- yet he wouldn't take no for an answer. A guy of impeccable character.
Jimmy Johnson:
He's a very complicated guy and a tremendous football coach. I was absolutely thunder struck at how good he was at what he did. Enough said.
Barry Switzer:
I never had any kind of relationship with Barry. Early on, I tried to establish a rapport with Barry and he resisted that, so I don't have much of an opinion about him.
Chan Gailey:
I'm really impressed. I don't know him real well yet, but people who do just rave about him.
Steven Jones:
Steven's a very bright guy. He would have been a success whether his father had created an entre in to the business or not.
Jerry Jones:
You have to admire Jerry's drive ... he's just non-stop. He said when he came here that he would be eaten up with the Cowboys all the time and you can't question that he has been. He is committed to the Cowboys, and no one can question that.
YST: Who are some of the people you have helped in their broadcasting career?
"There were people who were big influences on me, without meaning or intending to be, such as Verne Lundquist, Frank Gleiber and Jack Buck. No one ever instructed me on what I should do or the best way to do things. I've made it a point to share the things I've learned, and am gratified if people like George Dunham and Craig Miller (KTCK's morning team), Chuck Cooperstein (WBAP), and (ex-Mavericks' broadcaster) Dave Barnett feel that I've been able to help them.
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YST: How does playing youth sports affect kids?.
"I think youth sports are so important. Kids can learn many positive things from being involved in athletics, particularly team sports. They learn teamwork, reliance and being responsible to others as well as sharing good and bad experiences.
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