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Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

2003 HALL OF FAME

Robert B. Cullum

  • Position Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
  • Hometown Dallas, Texas
  • Classic Memories CBAA Chairman: 1960-61 CBAA President: 1958-59 CBAA Team Selection Committee: 1955-1973 Committee Assignments: 1946-1973

Biography

Robert B. Cullum was regarded as the most popular man in Dallas. He was the leader of nearly every civic group in town, but Cullum's greatest passion was college football. Aided by his father-in-law, Dan D. Rogers, he played a key role in negotiating the pact that linked the Cotton Bowl to the Southwest Conference in the 1940s. He then helped wrangle a $10,000 contract with NBC for the Classic's first national radio broadcast, long before the advent of television. In team selection, he convinced Navy to accept a bid to the 1964 Cotton Bowl where the Middies introduced Dallas to Roger Staubach. Yes, Cullum wore many hats, but the one he liked best was always reserved for the Cotton Bowl.