Clinton Manges was a controversial oil tycoon in Texas in the 1970s and 1980s. Manges was born in Cement, Oklahoma. He began to amass his fortune in South Texas in the early 1970s, when he befriended Lloyd M. Bentsen, Sr., the father of U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and political bossGeorge Parr, known as the "Duke of Duval." In 1971, Manges bought a ranch in the county. He was a confidante and close friend of numerous officials, including the late Attorney GeneralJim Mattox, Garry Mauro and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Manges was an unabashed political liberal. In contrast, most Texas oil barons like Eddie Chiles, Bunker and Lamar Hunt, Clint Murchison, and two-time GovernorBill Clements were extremely conservative and supported Republican candidates. With his large fortune, Manges was soon one of the most prolific supporters of Democratic candidates in Texas. He would often donate $50,000 or more to various statewide campaigns. Paul Burka of Texas Monthly wrote of Manges in 1984, "By mastering the mysterious ways of South Texas, Clinton Manges has built an empire, amassed political influence, declared war on the state establishment—and left bitter enemies in his wake."
Personal life
Manges was born to migrant farm workers in Cement, Oklahoma. He dropped out of grade school to pick cotton. Later, he attended high school in Port Aransas and worked as a shrimper. After serving in the Coast Guard in the World War II era, he moved to the Rio Grande Valley. He met Ruth Richmond, daughter of a prosperous local farmer, and fellow employee at the Rio Theatre in Raymondville; they married in 1946. At age 30 he suffered from tuberculosis. In the 1960s he worked in a gas station, where he met and impressed Lloyd Bentsen, Sr.; he subsequently represented Bentsen in his real estate dealings. Manges didn't smoke or drink. He agreed to pay legal expenses of Duval County District Judge O. P. Carillo in his impeachment trial. He owned the Mongoose bowling alley, and later the Mongoose cotton gin. He experienced financial problems in 1961, did not pay debts, and wrote bad checks to the state of Texas. The Small Business Administration foreclosed on the loan with which he started the ginning business. In 1963, he was indicted for making false statements on the application for that loan. He pleaded guilty in 1965 and paid a fine of $2500.
In 1984, Manges talked the fledgling United States Football League into granting him an expansion franchise, the San Antonio Gunslingers. In 1983, he had paid to upgrade Alamo Stadium with artificial turf and an all-weather track. Despite–or perhaps, because of–Manges' wealth, the USFL did not require Manges to make an initial capital investment. Instead, he paid for team expenses out-of-pocket as they arose. This practice caught up with him in 1985, when his oil fortune collapsed. In the ESPN documentary Small Potatoes - Who Killed the USFL? that first aired on Tues. October 20, 2009, former Gunslingers quarterback Rick Neuheisel stated that during that season, the players would often race each other to the bank in order to cash their paychecks. According to Neuheisel, the players knew that the first 50% of the checks deposited were likely to clear, but that the other half would likely bounce. In June, Manges essentially walked away from the Gunslingers and stopped paying the team's bills, forcing the team to play the last stretch of the season for free. When he refused to make restitution for the team's debts, league commissioner Harry Usher revoked the franchise. The players sued Manges to recover back pay, but that suit collapsed when he declared bankruptcy in 1987. At least some of the players and coaches still hadn't been paid at the time of a 1998 reunion, and no one owed back pay had been paid at the time of his death.
