Loser Takes All: Bud Adams, Bad Football, & Big Business

by Ed Fowler

A highly entertaining expose of the Houston Oilers, Loser Takes All is a story of scheming, backstabbing, and abject failure--except that, because of the wacky nature of today's sports business, Bud Adams' team is worth untold millions and gets more valuable every day.

Genres: Football, Sports

181 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Once a nationally recognized sports columnist, he is now an ordained minister. For most of three decades, Ed Fowler wrote sports for the Austin American-Statesman, Kansas City Star, Chicago Daily News and Houston Chronicle, commenting on the exploits of elite athletes from the World Series and Super Bowl to the Olympics, Wimbledon and the British Open. He is the author of Loser Takes All, a look at the machinations by which owner Bud Adams reincarnated the Houston Oilers as the Tennessee Titans for fun and profit. Fowler also hosted a daily sports talk show on Houston radio stations in the 1990s.

An avowed agnostic, he “suffered” a head-on collision with the Holy Spirit on Christmas Day 1994, just after his 47th birthday. Since that day, Fowler has worked in overseas missions and as a volunteer mentor and teacher with Prison Fellowship. After studying biblical languages at Dallas Theological Seminary he graduated from Cranmer Theological House with a master of divinity degree. He was ordained a deacon and then a presbyter and currently serves as vicar of All Saints Anglican Church in Durango, Colorado. He also teaches a weekly Bible study and mentors inmates in the La Plata County Jail.

Reviews

[Mark]

given to me by Shawn N. He and I grew up loving the Oilers in Htown and this book was a great summary of all Bud Adams, Bum Philips and all the pain we experienced as big time Oilers fans growing up in Houston watching repeated tragedies and collapses. This book helped wash the bad feelings away no matter how difficult it was to read the chapter on the great Buffalo collapse.

[Thomas Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, if occasionally non-linear, recap of the reign of ineptitude from K.S. "Bud" Adams as founder/owner of the Houston Oilers helmed by long-time Houston Chronicle reporter Ed Fowler.

Having grown up in Houston in the 70's, you simply can't underestimate the hold on the city that the Oilers of that era had. It's too bad Adams was so egotistical (fired Bum Phillips) and selfish that it was all doomed to end in tears. One forgets just how many Head Coaches the Oilers had during their time in Houston (1960-1996). Of course, after years of threats (and a mere 10 years after bilking $67,000,000 out of Harris County taxpayers), Adams lit out for Tennessee, who was willing to pay anything for a pro franchise.

Oiler fans can still take some enjoyment from the fact that Tennessee Titans have been mostly forgettable since the move (including a 3-9 mark thus far in 2024) and that performance has extended even after Bud's death under ownership of the inheritor/miserable human Amy Adams Strunk. Strunk's selfishness even extends to her insistence on keeping the Oilers history and heritage.

[Mark Bunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Nashville, the Tennessee Titans, The Oilers and the NFL- I have a lot of viewpoints. A history I needed to read, a public finance tale I needed to understand. From a real estate teaching point of view, this book can be a tool when discovering incentives that drive the new stadium deals and the back story issues. A public finance students read it for the next to last 2 chapters- while remaining mindful that the back story drives the moods.

[Brandt Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read about the origins of the Houston Oilers and their ownership under Bud Adams. As a lifelong Titans fan I have always wanted to learn more about their beginning in Houston and this book gave me a glimpse. It takes you through the years of the team from their origin in the AFL to their final move to Tennessee.

[Tim K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun quick read, it brought back memories of Houston’s struggles with Bud. Ultimately Houston is better off without Bud and did eventually land the Texans in 2002. Its a good read for Houstonians and the book focuses on Bud’s attempt to hold Houston hostage. I remember the dome renovations and folks around here being pissed at Bud for wanting another stadium shortly after the renovations were completed.