Sad news. I had several meeting with Robert when he was a US Trustee for the Bankruptcy Court in Dallas. He was a great guy.
I'm a born-and-raised Canadian, who fell in love with College Football and The University of Texas Longhorns in 1978. My first, and currently only, in person, Texas/ou game was, I believe, 1993, a week after seeing, I believe, Rice in Austin. We had afew days in Dallas leading up to Texas/ou on Saturday and The Cowboys on the Sunday. Think, on the Thursday, we took the tour of The Old Cowboy Stadium. Threw the ball around, learned some things and I kicked a 35-yard field goal, without a rush. Most memorable thing about that day was meeting Robert Newhouse in The Cowboy's Store and impressed at what a humble, kind and welcoming gentleman he was to the two Canadians he just met. RIP Robert, and prayers to his family and friends.
I grew up a house in East Texas where the Cowboys was the only game on, and of course my Dad's favorite, the whole era of Dandy Don and then Robert's era about the time Jolly Roger was on board and the Super Bowl wins -- FINALLY. Great memories. RIP, Robert!!
This brings me sadness - great player and person. RIP Robert Newhouse. Side thought - he had the biggest thighs I have ever seen on a football player, even bigger than Earl....
I grew up down the block from his family. He often piled us in the back of his big Benz and took us to the Jr High so we didn't have to wait for the bus. I was a bit too young to watch him play in his glory days, but I remember thinking how enormous he was. Prayers for his family.
Robert was a great player, but an even better person. Over the years of our friendship, he provided many humorous moments; I took my kids from Houston to watch the Cowboys. I thought I would go to his office at First City to get the tickets, but he left them at home. When I asked for directions, he told me, "Take Swiss out of downtown to the flood district. Look for the house with the highest water mark and that's ours." On a professional note, Robert worked for First City National Bank in downtown Dallas. He would joke about "having a desk in the lobby, where his job was to look Cowboy". He made an appointment with the CEO and told him that football was not forever and FCNB needed to train him to be a banker or he needed to find something to feed his family when football was done. Every year, we'd visit at the bank in Houston in May or June. He'd tell me he was going to retire. Then, Gil Brandt would dangle that six figure contract out there, and he'd say "one more year". Side note - He was the second client of super agent Randy Hendricks. RIP, my friend
He was a great Cowboy and better than a lot of experts thought he would be. I remember him when I was a little kid playing for Hallsville High School where he was a star and then playing at Houston in college in that veer offense.
I have a friend who went to grad school with him. She gushed about what a great guy he was. One of the most entertaining exchanges I remember was when the voice of the Cowboys, Frank Glieber (don't remember the spelling) was breaking in a new analyst (I think it was Emerson Boozer) and quoted a Cowboys opponent on the best technique for tackling Newhouse, "You gotta tackle him low -- right around the neck." The line was fresh for Boozer. He laughed so hard he couldn't speak for a minute or two.
Too young to have seen it live but I'll never forget the story of him breaking the huddle licking his hands like crazy trying to get the stickum off so he could throw that TD pass in the Super Bowl.
That pass was absolutely perfect. Staubach couldn't have thrown it better. I did see it live, but I don't recall the part about licking his hands. That's quite a "tell".
I was in third grade in 1979, I believe, and a friend gave me a kitten. I named her Robert Newhouse. #OGCowboyfan I never got to meet the man, but it warms my heart to hear all the great testimonies on here (and elsewhere) about what a great guy he was...I guess that's what we always think our heroes are like when we're kids, and it's nice to know that sometimes, maybe reality measures up.
