Lawrence Payne  


 

My introduction to APBA came via the football game in junior high school.  It was a natural evolution from the games I had Invented using bubble gum cards.  By high school baseball had also become part of the routine.  After I graduated from high school in 1969, I began playing the baseball game with my friends, three of whom still participate in a league with me today.  In 1979 I formed an APBA league In San Antonio that is still going strong today.

Professionally, I've spent my entire career with the San Antonio Spurs.  I joined the Spurs in July of 1976, after obtaining a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.  I've had many opportunities to leave (President of the Houston Rockets the most recent offer In '95), but have been fortunate in that the Spurs have matched and bettered every offer I've had come my way.  The fact that my wife moved 19 times when growing up and having two sons who love San Antonio makes it unlikely that I'll leave anytime soon.  My duties through the years have ranged from TV producer/director to Team Counsel; I now oversee all broadcast properties and sponsorships. 

In the broadcasting area I've won several honors, including two national ACE Awards (producer/basketball), the Silver Medal at the International Film and Television Festival of New York (theatre short) and several local Addy awards.  I'm a charter member of the NBA Broadcast Advisory Board and on several other boards including the Baylor Business School S3 program and the University of Texas School of Law Non-Practicing Advisory Council.

I've been married to my wife, Mary, for close to 28 years.  I have two sons, 23-year-old Bryan, a former US Army All-American football player, who simultaneously received his Masters and Undergraduate degrees in Accounting from the Unversity of Texas Red McCombs Business School this past May. He will attend the University Of California /Hastings School Of Law this fall.  My youngest son, 18-year-old Will, was also  an outstanding athlete who had his career shortened by a shoulder injury.  He will be a freshman at UTSA this fall and will transfer to the University of Texas at Austin after his freshman year. He is me and I shudder thinking about it.

Needless to say I feel blessed to have the family and good fortune that have come my way.

 

 

 

Spurs Jewelry Collection

 Now if only the Toros.........


This page was last updated 11/06/2007 10:56:51 PM by Warren Wool