STREET TALK

Imagine the heyday the local and national media would have if two guys named “Bum” were running the Dallas Cowboys. It could happen, at least theoretically, if the rumor rings true that Dallas developer H.R. “Bum” Bright is in the lead to buy the Cowboys over developer Vance Miller and car magnate W.O. Bankston. Bum isn’t saying that the rumor isn’t true; he just says he can’t discuss it. Part two of this scenario could come about if Texas Monthly writer Peter Applebome’s “Perfect Texas” fairy tale comes true and New Orleans Saints football coach O.A. “Bum” Phillips moves to Dallas to coach the Cowboys. (See the March ’84 issue.) If either man changes his name in the next few months, it’s a sure sign that something’s brewing.



You would have to have been out of the country not to notice the barrage of radio, television and print advertising that the Lincoln Hotel sponsored this past winter. The national ads featured Dallas Cowboys Bill Bates, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Rafael Septien and Everson Walls discussing the hotel’s merits and knocking themselves out to convey the message, “If it’s good enough for America’s Team, it’s good enough for anyone.” The hotel’s public relations director, Yvonne Crum, says that the Cowboy team stayed at the hotel before home games last season, but the football organization did not endorse the ad campaign. The hotel was legally bound not to run the ads un-til after the playoff games, but-fortunately for the hotel -that date came earlier than expected. Crum says that the expensive campaign must have worked, because occupancy rates have increased by 10 to 15 percent.



This is the year of great expectations as far as the Dallas Chamber of Commerce is concerned. What with the Grand Prix race at Fair Park in July and the Republican National Convention here in August, the chamber thinks that the city might be able to erase all the old images the international community has held about Dallas, according to chamber officer Meg Vint. But the image-boosting really begins this month with the Dallas World Salute events coordinated by Stanley Marcus. (It used to be called Dallas Salutes the World, but someone in the Office of Protocol didn’t like having a sentence for a theme.) Look for the Mayor’s International Ball April 14 at the Fairmont Hotel; the International Bazaar (sponsored by the Central Business District Association) at City Hall Plaza April 28 and 29; the International Children’s Festival April 21 at Signature Place; and possibly a 10K race toward the end of April. The city’s Office of Protocol has a calendar of events.