Gerald Anthony "Jerry" Sadler
23rd Texas Land Commissioner
In office 1961–1971
Governor	Price Daniel (1961–1963) John Connally (1963–1969) Preston Smith (1969–1971)
Preceded by	Bill Alcorn
Succeeded by	Robert L. Armstrong
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 27th district
In office January 11, 1955 – January 10, 1961[1]
Preceded by	James Paxton
Succeeded by	Rayford Price
Railroad Commissioner of Texas
In office January 1, 1939 – January 1, 1943
Preceded by	Charles Vernon Terrell
Succeeded by	Beauford Jester
Personal details
Born	(1907-09-08)September 8, 1907 Kirbyville, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 25, 1982(1982-02-25) (aged 74)
Resting place	Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Laura Jones Sadler
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1927–1929; 1942
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Battles/wars	World War II

Gerald Anthony "Jerry" Sadler (September 8, 1907 – February 25, 1982), was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Texas. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1955 to 1961, the Texas Railroad Commission from 1939 to 1943,^[2] and the Commissioner of the General Land Office from 1961 to 1971.

With his proclivity for fist fighting, folksy turns of phrase and snuff sniffing, Sadler ranks among the state's most colorful politicians.^[3]

Sadler was born to Maybelle and Claude Sadler^[4] in Kirbyville, near Palestine, in Anderson County, East Texas. Frequently in trouble in school and at home, he left Kirbyville for Houston at age 14. He landed a job there as the youngest bellboy at the Rice Hotel.^[5] He attended Stephen F. Austin College and Jefferson University, from which he received a law degree.^[4]

According to his autobiography, Politics, Fat Cats and Honey-Money Boys: The Mem-Wars of Jerry Sadler, he then worked briefly as a youth minister in Port Arthur, as a undercover FBI agent in the Valley, and became the state's youngest millionaire in the East Texas oilfields. In the book, he also claims to have practiced law in Longview after a short period of study with Clarence Darrow in Chicago.^[6]

He served in the United States Army 12th Cavalry from 1927 to 1929 at Fort Brown in Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas.^[5]

In 1938, Sadler was elected to the Texas Railroad Commission. He had run on the notion that big business and oil companies were exploiting the common people of Texas. During the depression, oil was the lifeblood of the state. Sadler felt that wealth should belong Texans, not “the fat cats of Wall Street.”^[7] At only 30 years of age, he was the youngest to hold the office. Sadler claimed he had been in 58 fistfights during the campaign.^[8]

Fifteen months into his term, he made a gubernatorial run against W. Lee "Pappy" O’Daniel.^[7] He launched the ultimately unsuccessful campaign with a "hillbilly band" and his cousin/campaign manager, the well-known tent entertainer Harley Sadler, serving as emcee.^[9]

Although he was exempt from serving in the armed forces, Sadler resigned from the Railroad Commission in 1942 to enter the U.S. Army once again. He enlisted as a private, despite being eligible to be commissioned as an officer. He served during World War II in Iran as a supervising officer for supply lines to the Soviet Union. After the war, Sadler was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel. Sadler was awarded the European-African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon and, from the USSR, the Order of the Fatherland, Second Class.^[7] He was honorably discharged in 1945.^[5]

After the war, Sadler returned to Anderson County. In the 1946 gubernatorial election, Sadler ran for the Democratic nomination, but was defeated by his successor on the Railroad Commission, Beauford H. Jester of Corsicana in Navarro County.^[5] He then was elected to the Texas House in 1954 (term 1/11/1955 - 1/8/1957). He was twice re-elected, serving to January 10, 1961.^[10]

In spring 1957, Sadler was apprised by an employee of the University of Texas at Austin that a young black woman, Barbara Smith Conrad, had been cast to sing the role of Dido (opposite a white Aeneas) in Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" at UT Austin. At a legislator's breakfast, Sadler complained of the mixed-race casting, prompting another legislator, Joe Chapman, to telephone the president of the University, Logan Wilson, and threaten to withhold funding should Smith perform.^[11]

Wilson had her removed from the cast, provoking protests and national news coverage. When interviewed by the Houston Post, Sadler said of his breakfast remarks, "I mentioned appropriations and as a matter of fact [I] voted against those for the university because they have Negro undergraduates."^[12] Ms. Smith graduated UT in 1959 and later gained international renown as an operatic star.^[11]

Following his six-year stint as a state representative, Sadler was elected Texas Land Commissioner in 1960. Sadler is best-known for his decade heading up the agency.^[7]

Upon his arrival at the General Land Office (GLO), Sadler mandated lower hemlines and shorter sideburns for employees. He also discontinued the practice of workers taking coffee breaks away from their desks. He believed the appearance of the younger workforce was "a sign of moral decay" and that the coffee breaks were costing taxpayers far too much.^[7]

In 1962, Sadler opposed Senator Ralph Yarborough's plans to create a National Seashore at South Padre Island. Sadler claimed that a National Seashore that took over state-owned tidelands would prohibit the removal of oil and natural gas and thus deprive Texas of millions of dollars in revenues that would otherwise contribute to the Permanent School Fund. Using emotionally charged phrases such as "summarily stripped of such great wealth," Commissioner Sadler persuaded Governor Price Daniel, Sr., to appoint a statewide committee to study the feasibility of a state park in place of the National Seashore.

Ultimately, the Padre Island National Seashore was designated. Ironically, Padre Island would provide the setting for the final phase of Sadler's tenure as Land Commissioner.

In 1968, Sadler became involved with the Platoro company of Indiana, which discovered the wreck of a 16th century Spanish galleon, the Santa Maria de Yciar, while was dredging along the Gulf Coast near South Padre Island.^[13] Sadler’s handling of the treasure earned him the nickname “Jerry the Pirate” from state legislators who questioned his authority in the matter.^[14] Platoro kept the treasures, which were removed to Indiana. When Sadler's name was linked to the company, he went on an offensive demanding accountings from the company, but his involvement became a brewing scandal.

In 1969, State Representative Jake Johnson of San Antonio held a press conference demanding the return of the Spanish treasure. "At the conference, Sadler ended up holding Johnson in a choke hold as a radio reporter stuck a microphone in his face and asked him for comment. 'The land commissioner is choking me,' Johnson replied."^[5]

The following year, State Representative Bob Armstrong of Austin defeated Sadler in the Democratic primary and went on to hold that position for twelve years. Sadler never returned to political office, despite one more attempt at Land Commissioner in 1982 and three more attempts at Railroad Commissioner in 1976, 1978 and 1980.^[4]

Sadler was well-known for his snuff habit and sourdough bread recipe.^[4]

Sadler's first wife was Margarette Butts; the couple divorced in 1941. His second wife was Laura Jones (born August 24, 1920). The couple had two sons.^[4]

Following his political career, Sadler found time for several businesses, including the Sadler Motor Hotel, which opened in Palestine, Texas, in 1962. In later years, he retired to his farm in Anderson County and helped the local Slocum Independent School District by managing the construction of several new buildings.^[4]

Sadler died on February 25, 1982, at the age of 74. He is interred at Texas State Cemetery in Austin.^[4]