David Dixon

David Frank Dixon (June 4, 1923 – August 8, 2010) was an American businessman and sports executive who helped create the New Orleans Saints NFL team, the Louisiana Superdome, World Championship Tennis (WCT) and the original version of the United States Football League (USFL). An alumnus of Tulane University, Dixon created the New Orleans Professional Football Club, Inc., to lobby for an NFL or an AFL franchise for that city starting in 1962. In the 1961 season the Oakland Raiders finished 1–13, but several future Hall of Fame players were on that team. The owner decided to sell the team to Dixon for $236,000, and the team would have become the New Orleans Raiders; however, the mayor of Oakland interceded and helped put a group together and the team remained in Oakland. After persuading the AFL to play its 1965 All-Star game in New Orleans, Dixon experienced a setback when black players encountered discrimination in the French Quarter. The AFL moved the game to Houston. Later in the year, Dixon first proposed a football league, also called the USFL, that would play its games in the spring rather than the fall. Dixon eventually used the formation of this league to persuade the NFL to expand into New Orleans, which is how the New Orleans Saints came into being on November 1, 1966. New Orleans Saints On November 1, 1966, the efforts of Dixon and Governor John McKeithen paid off when the NFL awarded its 16th franchise to New Orleans. On November 8, after Dixon had persuaded McKeithen to endorse financing of a domed stadium, New Orleans voters approved funding to construct the Superdome. Along with John W. Mecom, Dixon became a part owner of the Saints. The team would begin play for the 1967 season.