Gerald Mann was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and the attorney general

Texas Attorney General

The Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...

 of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 from 1939 to 1944.

Mann studied at Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

, where he was twice named to all-conference football teams and was nicknamed the "Little Red Arrow." He subsequently worked his way through Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

: first with a job at a garment factory, later as a minister at a Congregationalist church.

After returning to Texas, Mann worked as an assistant attorney general under James Allred. Mann was a progressive and a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

. He was elected attorney general of Texas in 1938, and held that post until 1943. He replaced the political hacks in the office with talented and dedicated lawyers. Mann aggressively pursued an agenda of trust-busting.

Mann ran for the U.S. Senate in the 1941 special election, called after the death of Senator Morris Sheppard

Morris Sheppard

John Morris Sheppard was a Democratic United States Congressman and United States Senator from Texas. He authored the Eighteenth Amendment and introduced it in the Senate, so that he is referred to as "the father of national Prohibition."-Biography:John Morris Sheppard was born in Morris County...

. His opponents included Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

, then a member of the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, and Governor Pappy O'Daniel, who won the seat.

Mann died in 1990.