Top Ten Texans Ah.. Lists, lists, lists.  Now that we are  in the  midst of honoring San Jacinto Day,  why don't I just pour out my list of the GREATEST TEXANS OF  ALL TIME. I know, I left out the founders like Travis, Houston, Austin. Everyone knows them. This  is pretty much how they came to my mind.

In a "sort of" order of  preference, here they are:



1. Ann Richards

The best damn Governor a State could have.  More balls than G.W. Bush could  ever wish to have. 

2.  Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird winds up near the top for this  reason: Lyndon treated her like shit for the 40 or so years they were married. She acted  as  his servant. She was much better than that. When Lyndon died, her  light shone. Her philanthropist and beautification work helped make Austin the jewel it  is today.

3. Barbara Jordan

Tough as nails. A great politician and teacher. She broke down lots of barriers for black women not just in Texas, but nationwide.

4. Sarah Weddington

You like reproductive rights? Thank this lady. She successfully argued for Norma Roe in Roe  v. Wade.

5. Leon Jaworski

The man who fought Nixon and won. One of the greatest legal minds in American History.

6. Lyndon Baines Johnson

As president, he screwed up  Vietnam, started the Great Society, got the Civil Rights Act passed, and appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. In the 50's, he ran  the  Senate like a well-oil machine. As a young Congressman in the 30's, he single-handedly changed the direction of the Texas Economy. A complete asshole, a  genius politician. His  "Box 13" legacy is the greatest political swindle in American History. If you ever question whether fact is stranger than fiction, read-up on "Box 13." Yes. Only a Texan could do something like  that.

7. Sam Rayburn

LBJ's mentor and father figure. He was Speaker of the House for 17 years, and considered one  of its  most effective. Visiting your Congressman in Washington? You'll be visiting the Sam Rayburn Building.

8. Willie Nelson

The man who put the cosmic in Cosmic Cowboy. A great songwriter and  singer. He  is as renowned for  his dope  smoking and laid-back cool as for his music, the only man who admits to smoking herb atop the White House.  I once worked on a movie in Austin where it took  him nine takes to get his one line right. If you are a living legend, you can get away with stuff like that.

9. Tom Landry

More than a football coach, he is  "Saint Thomas the Redeemer," the man whose football team helped restore a little dignity to the City of Dallas after the Kennedy Assassination.

10. Janis Joplin

The girl from the Golden Triangle was larger than life. She lived a scant 27 years, but left behind enough scorching blues for several lifetimes.

11. Robert Rauschenberg

Another kid from the Golden Triangle, Mr. Rauschenberg turned the art world on its ear with his amped-up madman version of abstract expressionism.

12. Mia Hamm

This girl from Wichita Falls is the Pele of Women's Soccer.

13. Molly Ivins

Never a bad column, and never wanting in the funny department.

14. Tommy Tune

That's right. The macho state gave the world the man whose name is  synomymous with flaming musicals.

15. Carol  Burnett

Schmaltzy  humor, yes. But brilliant nonetheless.

16. Lance  Armstrong

Do 7 Tour de France Victories and overcoming cancer not speak for themselves?

17. Willie Brown

That's right California. The man took over your politics for several years was born and raised in Texas.

18. Buddy Holly

The man who opened the door for the Beatles

19. Roy Orbison

The greatest voice ever.

Honorable Mention

20. O.  Henry- writer

21. Howard  Hughes- genius businessman

22. Sissy Spacek- actress

23. Bob Wills- Singer

24. Red Adair- oil well firefighter

25.  Scott Joplin- Composer

26. Bill Hicks- Cynical Comedian

27. Van Cliburn- Pianist

28. Blind Lemon Jefferson - Blues Singer

29. Lead Belly- Blues Singer

30. Tex Avery- cartoonist

31. Dough  Sahm- Musician

WHO ARE YOUR GREATEST TEXANS OF ALL TIME?