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Jack Favor

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Jack Favor
Favor in 1965
Born
Jack Graves Favor[1]

(1911-11-30)November 30, 1911
Eula, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 1988(1988-12-27) (aged 77)
Arlington, Texas, U.S.
OccupationRodeo performer
Spouse
Ponder Favor
​
(m. 1940)​
[2][3]
Children3[2]

Jack Graves Favor (November 30, 1911 – December 27, 1988), also known as Cadillac Jack Favor,[4][5] was an American rodeo performer.[6][7][8]

Early and later life

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Favor was born on a ranch in Eula, Texas,[1][2] the son of Robert and Georgia Favor. 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.[2]

Favor served in the United States Navy from 1929 to 1932, returning to Texas after his discharge. He worked as a truck driver for a plumbing company in Abilene, Texas.[2] He later settled in Fort Worth, Texas,[1] before returning to the Navy in 1941.[2]

Favor (third in the center) with Bill McGuire, Foster Tussy and George Mills, 1947

Favor continued to compete in rodeos, retiring in 1961 to live in Texarkana, Texas, working as a salesman.[2]

Conviction, imprisonment and acquittal

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In 1967, Favor was convicted of a double murder after being accused by a hitchhiker he had picked up back in 1964. He was represented by Louisiana state senator Joe T. Cawthorn in his court trial, but was found guilty and served eight years of a life sentence at Angola State Penitentiary before being acquitted in a retrial. During his prison sentence, he competed in prison rodeos.[1]

Favor (right) with Warren Henderson, 1974

After his release, Favor settled in Arlington, Texas and sued for wrongful conviction and imprisonment, settling for $55,000.[9] He was the subject of a book written by William B. Moody, titled In Jack’s Favor, and appeared in the NBC late-night television talk show The Tomorrow Show, and a radio show hosted by sports journalist Howard Cosell.[2]

Death and legacy

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Favor died on December 27, 1988, from complications of cancer in a hospital in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 77. He was buried at Parkdale Cemetery.[1]

In 1998, Favor was played by actor and musician Clint Black in the television film Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.[5] Black also co-wrote the song "Cadillac Jack" with country songwriter Hayden Nicholas.[4]

In 2009, Favor was posthumously inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame.[10]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jack Favor, 77, rodeo champ who fought for prison reform". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. December 29, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ""Not Guilty"" (PDF). The Christian Ranchman. 2012. pp. 1, 12–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Wayback Machine. Open access icon
  3. ↑ Hawkes, Charles (June 20, 1974). "Jack Favor asks "What's next?": Former cowboy, sailor, salesman, convict tells his story". Mansfield News-Mirror. Mansfield, Texas. p. 1. Retrieved July 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  4. 1 2 "American Cowboy (Vol. 3, No. 6)". American Cowboy. Active Interest Media: 32. March–April 1997. ISSN 1079-3690 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 Miller, Daryl (April 28, 1998). "'Cadillac Jack' Rides Down a Well-Worn Country Road". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  6. ↑ "3 Men Indicted In Double Killing". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. October 14, 1965. p. 18. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ↑ "Jack Favor: Rodeo Star Condition Said Stable". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. May 5, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  8. ↑ McConal, Jon (July 12, 1974). "Jack Favor Back in the Saddle After 8 Years Lost to Bum Rap". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. p. 4. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  9. ↑ "Settlement Reached". Reading Eagle. May 17, 1976. p. 57. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Google Books. Open access icon
  10. ↑ "Inductees by Year". Western Heritage from the Texas Trail of Fame. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
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