Word: murchisons
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...made to do sums in his head. The lessons stuck, and he now astounds people with his memory for figures and lightning-like calculations. Schoolmate Sid Richardson, who is five years older, spent his spare time trading cattle. Sid taught Clint so much about cattle trading that Murchison was able to run a crippled heifer into $1,500 by the time he entered Texas' Trinity University...
After only two months in college, Gambler Murchison was caught in a crap game. He was told he could stay if he signed a no-craps pledge. But Murchison would not make such a promise; he returned to Athens as a teller in his father's bank. Instead of staying in his cage, Clint spent most of his time drinking coffee and drumming up business at the corner drugstore. He could not be bothered counting small change that was not included in the bank's legal reserves. But a bank inspector reasoned differently, ordered Murchison to count every...
...Gamblers & Promoters. When Richardson got out of the Army, he set himself up as a lease trader in Fort Worth. Murchison was only one day home himself when he got a call from his old friend asking him to join him. When Murchison showed up in uniform, Richardson ordered him into civvies. Said he: "If you wear that uniform when we go around to talk to people, they'll want to talk about the war. We aren't talking about anything but oil." Murchison set off for Wichita Falls, where the big play was in an extension...
Once, Richardson hauled Murchison out of an evening poker game to investigate a wildcat well he had heard about. They raced to the closely guarded site and, by bluffing guards, got near enough to smell oil. Next day they spent $50,000 buying leases in the area. Twenty-four hours later, they sold the leases...
There were crises. In the commodity collapse of 1921, the price of oil dropped in nine days from $3.50 a barrel to $1. Murchison and Richardson had all their money tied up in leases nobody wanted. Says Murchison: "We almost lost our taw." They split up, held creditors off as best they could. One even hounded them on a hunting trip; they left him stranded on an island in the Gulf while they fled to the mainland. Ultimately, the price of oil went up; they paid their debts. Says Murchison:"If you are honest and if you are trying, most...