Roy Hofheinz
Encyclopedia
Roy Mark Hofheinz popularly known as Judge Hofheinz or "The Judge", was State Representative from 1934 to 1936, County Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 of Harris County, Texas
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...

 from 1936 to 1944, and mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 of Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 from 1953 to 1955.

Biography

A flamboyant and successful orator, broadcaster, developer and sportsman, he was part of the group that created a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 franchise the Houston Colt .45s (which later became the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

) to Houston, as well as built the Harris County Domed Stadium, known as the Astrodome, the first large covered baseball and football facility in the world. Known in his youth as the "boy Mayor," at 23 he was the youngest county administrator in the state. He acted as campaign manager for 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...

 during his rise to the position of Congressman and then Senator.

After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Hofheinz pioneered FM radio and built a network of radio and television stations (790 KTHT Houston now KBME, 1530 KSOX Harlingen TX now KGBT, 680 KBAT San Antonio now KKYX) in the Texas Gulf Coast area, and made a business of salvaging the slag
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...

 from steelmaking, crushing it and selling it as roadbuilding aggregate
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

. Later, after the "Dome" was built, he worked with engineers at Monsanto Corporation to develop Astroturf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

, an imitation grass now widely used where natural grass does not flourish. In the 1960s he purchased, along with Israel and Irvin Feld
Irvin Feld
Irvin Feld was the head of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and founder Feld Entertainment. He was a music promoter who is credited with discovering Paul Anka.-Biography:...

, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...

, later selling his interest to Mattel, Inc. His giant southwest Houston development project, the Astrodomain, included the first major theme park in coastal Texas, Astroworld. This development came at hard times just before the recession during the early 1970s. His son, Fred Hofheinz
Fred Hofheinz
Fred Hofheinz , was mayor of Houston, Texas, from 1974 to 1978. He attended the University of Texas, earning a B.A., M.A., PhD, and J.D....

, served as mayor of Houston in the 1970s.

Judge Roy Hofheinz was a driving force behind the effort to obtain the Major League Baseball franchise for Houston, along with oilman Craig F. Cullinan, Jr. who had been involved with the failed attempted "Continental League
Continental League
The Continental League was a proposed third major league for baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season...

" and who was chairman of the Houston Sports Association executive committee, a syndicate of local businessmen dedicated to bringing a pro baseball team to southeastern Texas. On October 17, 1960, Houston was awarded the Colt .45 franchise in the ten-team National League.

He also owned the Houston Stars
Houston Stars
The Houston Stars were a soccer team based out of Houston, Texas that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Houston club was actually Bangu Atlético Clube from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

 professional soccer team, which was actually the imported Bangu Atlético Clube
Bangu Atlético Clube
Bangu Atlético Clube, or Bangu as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Bangu, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on April 17, 1904...

 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Hofheinz Pavilion
Hofheinz Pavilion
Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion, often known as simply Hofheinz Pavilion, is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston, Texas. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the University of Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams as well as...

, a multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

 campus, is named in his honor.

In 2006, Roy Hofheinz was inducted in the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.

See also

  • The Astrodome
  • AstroWorld
    Six Flags Astroworld
    AstroWorld was a seasonally operated theme park located on approximately of land between Kirby Drive and Fannin Avenue, directly south of Loop 610 in Houston, Texas, USA...

  • Hofheinz Pavilion
    Hofheinz Pavilion
    Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion, often known as simply Hofheinz Pavilion, is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston, Texas. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the University of Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams as well as...


External links

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