Gerald C. Mann (January 13, 1907 – January 6, 1990) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from 1939 to 1944. Mann studied at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal 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 (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

; 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 V. Allred. Mann was a progressive and a strong supporter of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. He was elected attorney general of Texas in 1938 and held that post until he resigned in December 1943. Mann aggressively pursued an agenda of trust-busting. Mann ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in the 1941 special election, called after the death of Senator Morris Sheppard. His opponents included

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, then a member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Pappy O'Daniel, who won the seat. After resigning as Attorney General, Mann resumed private law practice in Dallas. Remaining active in Democratic politics, he was Texas director of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in 1960."A Guide to the Gerald C. Mann Papers, 1929–1968"
Retrieved on 22 June 2015. Mann died in 1990.

References

Bibliography

* Robert A. Caro, '' The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power'' * 1907 births Texas attorneys general SMU Mustangs football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees 1990 deaths Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers American football quarterbacks 20th-century Texas politicians {{collegefootball-player-stub