DALLAS – Norm Sonju recalls the difficult times back in 1980 he was aggressively trying to put the finishing touches on a business deal to start an expansion National Basketball Association franchise in Dallas.
Times were tough back then, the economy was shaky, and businessmen were getting antsy about starting a new NBA franchise and naming it the Dallas Mavericks. But there was one folksy businessman who wanted in on the deal with Sonju.
His name was Don Carter.
While other potential investors were packing up their money and heading to the hills, Carter was eventually the man who bankrolled the Mavs and brought them to this football-crazed state.