Dan Cook, Jr. - 1943

Dan Cook was a 180-pound all-around athlete at St. Thomas who lettered in football, hockey, basketball and baseball, and won the school tennis title. A natural leader, his jokes kept the team loose in the locker room but who was a tiger on the field.

Dan attended the University of Houston and represented the school at the Texas Relays. After graduation, he became a sportswriter for the Houston Post and joined the San Antonio Express News as a sportswriter in 1952. He became a columnist in 1957 and executive sports editor in 1960.

Dan began his sports broadcasting career at KENS-TV in San Antonio in 1957 as Sports Editor for the Evening News. Many of Dan's columns and broadcasts included references to his years at St. Thomas. His reminiscences brought state-wide recognition to the school.

He covered 26 Super Bowls, 10 world-championship boxing bouts, the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, and many college and pro sporting events. He interviewed such sports legends as Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Arnold Palmer and A. J. Foyt.

Dan served two terms as President of the Texas Sportswriters Association and was named to the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Former Dallas Cowboy executive vice-president Tex Schram describes him as "a living legend."