Dallas Legend Wilford "Crazy Ray" Jones dead at 76

Crazy Ray is dead. Long live Crazy Ray.

Long time Dallas legend, Crazy Ray, died Saturday night at his home after years of battling diabetes and heart disease. What a guy!

Anyone who ever attended a Cowboys home game or watched one on TV knew very well who Crazy Ray was. He was sought out by network cameras at every game and fans and cheerleaders rushed to have their pictures taken with him. He was the unofficial and ubiquitous Dallas Cowboys "mascot" who was never on the Cowboys payroll. Imagine that! He got free tickets to each game but never received a paycheck for all of his work and support of the Dallas Cowboys. That always seemed a bit odd to me. After all, he was their #1 cheerleader.

I had the opportunity to meet Ray on three different occasions. The first time was at a Le Mans car race at Fair Park sometime in the 1980's. He was hired by some corporation to work the guests at a hospitality suite there to do his sleight of hand magic and party shtick. That was his craft and he did it superbly. Everyone loved him.

The 2nd time I met him was rightly at a Cowboys game in the mid 1990's. My boss gave me 4 tickets to see the game from his "Cowboy Suite," (which spoiled me for life and I haven't been to a Cowboy game since). We ran into Ray before the game and my wife and kids got to meet him and he treated us to some of his skillfully honed magic. Meeting Ray and seeing him perform his sleight of hand right before our very eyes was every bit as memorable, if not moreso, than the Cowboy game itself.

The last time I saw Ray, up close and personal, was at the Smirnoff Amphitheater at Fair Park when I went to see the Moody Blues in concert 5 or 6 years ago. I got there pretty early and Ray was there getting ready to work the crowds and we were able to talk for a pretty good while, just the two of us. We talked about his ill health and shrinking resources and that's when he told me he was never on the Cowboy payroll. It was a bittersweet conversation. I reminded him of some of my favorite tricks he'd performed in the past and he kindly did them for me once again. It was fortuitous to be able to bump into him again and to be able to talk to him one on one.

News of his death came to me tonight as I was surfing the news wires one more time before heading to bed. My wife and son were in the room and they, too, were saddened to hear of Ray's passing. They rushed to the computer to see the above linked article and remembered a happier time when Crazy Ray was in his prime working his magic at Texas Stadium.

Our thoughts and prayers go out for Mrs. Jones and the rest of the family members who mourn the loss of Crazy Ray. He was one of the good guys and he will be missed.