Dallas businessman Thomas O. Hicks significantly impacted well-known brands such as Dr. Pepper, the Texas Rangers, and the Dallas Stars. However, his most lasting legacy was his family.
“He was this builder and risk-taker, but also the constant family man,” said daughter Catherine Hicks Cosgrove to The Dallas Express. “I think that is what he’d want his legacy to be.”
The senior Hicks died at age 79 on December 6 in Dallas, surrounded by family, in the city he helped build.
Despite his busy professional life, Hicks always made time for family.
Catherine told DX she was born in 1993, during the peak of her father’s career. “Still, I had a dad who was at home for dinner every single night and would throw a baseball with me in the front yard, or shoot basketball with me in the backyard,” she said. “He would make breakfast for us every morning. I had a very engaged dad when I was young.”
Hicks’ son, Thomas Hicks Jr., echoed his sister’s point – telling The Dallas Express his most profound legacy was his loved ones.
“He was just always about family,” Thomas said. “He was a busy guy, but he would stick around for family dinners and then fly to New York afterward.”
Soon after Hicks’ passing, Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke honored him on the floor of Congress.
“Hicks, of Dallas, Texas, was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, a patriotic American, and a respected leader in business, philanthropy, and civic life,” Zinke said. “Each of Mr. Hicks’ children carries forward his example through their own work, families, and contributions to the lives of Americans.”
The Early Days
Hicks was born on February 7, 1946, in Houston, according to The New York Times. His father, John Hardin Hicks, was a theology professor at Southern Methodist University who also owned local radio stations. His mother, Madelyn Harde Hicks, ran the home.
“He was born in Houston, but he grew up between Dallas and Port Arthur,” Catherine said. “Dallas is just a city that raised him, and he wanted to give back in adulthood.”
Hicks played high school football in Port Arthur and worked at his father’s radio station as a disc jockey – known as “Steve King the Weekend Wonder Boy,” according to The New York Times.
“He grew up in Dallas,” Thomas said.
Hicks also attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, according to Thomas. He later attended the University of Texas, where he graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in finance.
“He totally brainwashed all of us to be Longhorns fans,” Thomas said. “Three of his kids graduated from the University of Texas as well.”
Hicks would then graduate from the University of Southern California in 1970 with a master’s in business, according to The New York Times.
Making It Big-Time
Hicks used his career to build Dallas’ reputation – even across the world.
For years, he owned sports teams, including the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Stars, and Liverpool F.C. in England, as The New York Times reported. He also bought Dr. Pepper, 7Up, and A&W Root Beer.
Hicks used a “buy and build” strategy to raise more than $12 billion in private equity and complete more than $50 billion in leveraged acquisitions, according to the Texas Business Hall of Fame, which he joined in 2022. He was co-founder and co-CEO of the Dallas private equity firm Hicks & Haas from 1984 to 1989, and then co-founder and chairman of Hicks, Muse, Tate, & First from 1989 to 2004.
In the mid-1980s, Hicks & Haas bought Dr. Pepper, 7Up, and A&W Root Beer. They turned investors’ initial investment of somewhere between $55 and $88 million into a $1.2 billion payout.
Hicks became owner and chairman of the Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2011. Under his leadership, the Stars qualified for the national championships twice. They won the Stanley Cup in 1999.
“When we won the Stanley Cup, we got to keep it at our house for about a week,” Catherine said. “My dad let us play with it. I had a lemonade stand, and he let me bring the cup out to the front yard.”
Catherine said she would charge passersby 50 cents for a cup of lemonade and $1 for a picture with the Stanley Cup.
“He was just very engaged. He brought our family into his world every turn,” Catherine said. “For big sporting games, it would probably be more fun for him to go with friends, but he brought us along.”
Hicks owned the Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2010. Under his leadership, the team won the American League West division three times and reached the World Series for the first time in 2010.
“Being shoulder to shoulder with him was always about more than ballparks and stadiums,” said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, according to ESPN. “It was about personal respect, trust, and friendship. We shared a lot of miles together, and I’ll miss him greatly. My heart goes out to his family.”
Thomas said his father was also close friends with fellow Dallas tycoon Darwin Deason, who died December 2 – leaving behind a legacy of hard work and “hustle,” as The Dallas Express reported.
Confronting Challenges
The same year the Rangers reached the World Series, Hicks had to sell the team in bankruptcy court, according to The New York Times. He also sold the Liverpool soccer club, and the Stars were sold at public auction in 2011. This was partly due to the 2008 recession and internal struggles.
“He was at the top of the world, then he was in it long enough to watch it go away,” Catherine said. “He always was very focused on family, but by the end, it was his sole focus.”
When Hicks had to sell the teams, he shielded his kids from the struggles, according to his daughter.
“I obviously knew something was going on, but he would still take me on all my college visits and go to my volleyball games. As a dad, you would never know,” Catherine said. “Family was always a comfort to him.”
Through it all, Thomas said one of his father’s most prominent lessons was to never give up.
“He’s the guy who was never afraid to go put everything at risk, and parlay it into some great businesses that he created. But he also went through challenging times,” he said. “He just never gave up.”
A Long-Term Vision
Catherine said her father was proud of his Texas ties and wanted to help the state grow. While most other people in business using leveraged buyouts were in New York, Hicks hoped to be in touch with the rest of the country.
“He wanted to do anything he could to give Texas an edge, especially when he was first starting in the finance world,” she said. “‘Let’s get in touch with the rest of the country.’ He was very proud to put Texas on the map in terms of a deal-making place. He just wanted it to be as vibrant as possible.”
Dallas has begun positioning itself as America’s new financial hub, planning to open the Texas Stock Exchange – “Y’all Street” – in 2026, as The Dallas Express reported.
Additionally, Hicks was a supporter of Republican causes.
“He was a strong supporter of President Trump and many other Republicans over a long period of time,” Thomas said.
Thomas sits on President Donald Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and he recently served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee for four years.
During this time, Thomas said he ran into some “funny” situations with his father. “I got tasked with asking him for money, but would make other people do it,” he joked.
Trump appointed Hicks as a commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2018. Thomas said his father was “proud” of some of the current leaders in Washington, D.C., and hoped deeply to “right the wrongs” Trump has endured.
“Without free markets, you can’t have growth,” Thomas said. “His vision was always to keep government out of your life.”
Retired United States Air Force General Robert Spalding told The Dallas Express he has recently been working with Thomas on an online, “national survival network” for the military and private clients in case of disaster – SEMPRE.
“It’s basically military-grade infrastructure for connectivity,” Spalding said. “So devices and cloud services for both national preparedness – so the population, but also critical infrastructure like energy, and financial, and health.”
After working with Thomas, Spalding said they met with officials to raise the alarm about security risks from the Chinese company Huawei. As The Dallas Express reported, the Chinese company has allegedly been spying on critical American infrastructure.
Hicks was “always very supportive” of SEMPRE, according to Spalding. “He was not just a great businessman, but he was a patriot – just a good man.”
Many businessmen operate more “underhanded” than what Spalding was used to in the military, he said, but Hicks stood apart. “That’s what really impressed me the most is his ability to be a successful businessman, but also maintain that high integrity.”
‘Family Was Forever’
Thomas recalled his father’s smile. “He would light up a room,” he said. “He loved his grandkids.”
Catherine recalled memories of playing backgammon together.
“When we all were in the house every night after dinner, we’d kind of chat, or go over the news of the day or what was going on in his work world,” she said. “But when it was just me at the house, every night after dinner, he and I would go play backgammon.”
They kept a running tally of scores, according to Catherine, reaching roughly 300 games by the time she went to college.
“You could tell, he knew that family was forever.”
Hicks’ memorial will be at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center downtown on January 8, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
