Jack Graves Favor, also known as Cadillac Jack Favor, (November 30, 1911 – December 27, 1988) was an American rodeo performer.

Biography

Early life

Favor was born on a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

in Eula, Texas. He attended and graduated from Abilene High School. While at high school he won his first rodeo competition as a bronc rider in

Cameron, Texas Cameron is a city in Milam County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,306 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Milam County. Geography Cameron is located at (30.854544, –96.978716). It is situated at the junction of U.S. High ...

Later life

Favor served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1929 to 1932, returning to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

after his discharge. He worked as a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

for a plumbing company in Abilene, Texas. Favor later settled in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, before returning to the Navy in 1941. Favor continued to compete in rodeos, retiring in 1961 to live

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. ...

and work as a salesman.

Conviction, imprisonment and acquittal

In 1967 Favor was convicted of a double murder after being accused by a hitchhiker he had picked up. He served eight years in

Angola prison The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

before being acquitted in a retrial. After his release Favor was the subject of a book by William B. Moody titled ''In Jack’s Favor'', and appeared on the

late-night television Late night television is one of the dayparts in television broadcast programming. It follows prime time and precedes the overnight television show graveyard slot. The slot generally runs from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. ET, with variation ...

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

The Tomorrow Show ''The Tomorrow Show'' (also known as ''Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'' or ''Tomorrow'' and, after 1980, ''Tomorrow Coast to Coast'') is an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder which aired on NBC in first run form from October ...

'' and a radio show hosted by author, presenter and

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

Howard Cosell Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...

Death

Favor died in December 1988 of complications from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in a hospital in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, at the age of 77. He was buried in Parkdale Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1998 Favor was played by actor and musician

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles on the ...

in the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

''Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack''. Black also wrote a song titled "Cadillac Jack" with country

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

Hayden Nicholas James Hayden Nicholas is a country guitarist and songwriter. Nicholas grew up in the Houston, Texas area. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the band Revolver, headlined by Tim McCrary, which played extensively in Texas. After a stint livi ...

. Favor was posthumously inducted into the

Texas Trail of Fame The Texas Trail Hall of Fame is a cowboy hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas. Established in 1997, the building is located at 208 N.W. 24th Street, in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District of the city. The hall honors individuals w ...

in 2009.

References

External links

Jack FavorJack Favor - National Registry of Exonerations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Favor, Jack 1911 births 1988 deaths People from Texas Bronc riders American truck drivers American automobile salespeople Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) alumni People convicted of murder by Louisiana People acquitted of murder Prison reformers Deaths from cancer in Texas Burials in Texas