Houston Sports - Jim McIngvale

Jim McIngvale

Born: February 11, 1951

Sports: Football (2-time national champion), Gambling (world record gambling payout)

With so many sports seasons currently going on, I thought it would be fun to look at the life of a Houston legend that has had his hand in many of them, if not all.  Having made a name for himself with a local furniture store and its memorable commercials, Mattress Mack is one of the biggest superfans of our local teams.  What many within the city may not know, however, is that one of our favorite sons was also involved in a bit of sports history along the way, and it has influenced his life every step of the way.  So let's get to know the story of our very own Jim McIngvale.

The home of Gallery Furniture has remained at its original location since the early 1980s

Jim McIngvale was born in Starkville, Mississippi, in 1951 as the second of six children born to George and Angela McIngvale.  George had been a soldier during World War II and worked in finance, but early in the 1950s he opted to pursue new opportunities in Texas and moved to Texas.  Jim grew up a Texan and attended Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, where he played football well enough to be named District Player of the Year in 1969 and merit a scholarship to the University of Texas.  Wanting to become a football star, McIngvale earned a roster spot alongside big brother George with the Longhorns for two seasons, 1969 and 1970, during which UT won 30 consecutive games and back-to-back national championships.  But despite the team's success, young Jim was not good enough to get onto the field and returned to Dallas.  He attended North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) from 1972-73 and played for their football team as well, but eventually dropped out of college and went to work at a convenience store.  He got fired.  He attempted to start a gym.  It failed.  He got married.  And then divorced.  By 1978, Jim McIngvale was 27 and had nothing in his life that he could point to as a success, but at that moment he had a life-changing moment.  He turned on the TV and watched a televangelist named Orel Roberts.  As a lifelong Catholic, McIngvale said he wasn't searching for religion but he needed to hear a message.  The words that came from the TV preacher became his life motto: "Get up, go to work, and make something out of your life."

Inspired, Jim McIngvale went to work for a local furniture company and began to learn the business.  Just like his father, who had opened his own insurance business, Jim decided that owning the business was the way to make it.  He approached his girlfriend, Linda McCullough, with an idea that they move to Houston and become entrepreneurs.  She rejected him dozens of times before finally agreeing - but only if they got married first.  And so it was in 1981 that a newlywed couple with nothing but $5000 and a truck arrived in Houston with a dream to make a life and a business together.  They began Gallery Furniture in the lot of an old model home business that had been abandoned, and lived on-site because they couldn't afford to have any of their discount furniture stolen.  They also became one of the first stores to offer same-day delivery because they couldn't afford to have customers cancel their purchases.  The business started to grow but 1983 the oil industry that supported Houston began to falter.  McIngvale watched his sales plummet and decided the only solution was to throw what little money he had left into advertising.  He paid in advance for a commercial that would air on local TV stations, but wasn't happy with the pitch.  On the final take, McIngvale improvised a rapid-fire pitch and ended by yanking a bit of cash out of his back pocket (representing the entire day's sales) and shouting that Gallery Furniture "saves you money!"  The tagline stuck, and on that day Mattress Mack was born.

For decades, Jim McIngvale's presence on local advertising and his relentless business style made him a recognizable household name throughout Houston.  He developed a reputation for throwing everything he had into Gallery and trying every antic or tactic he could imagine, while also being a generous but demanding employer.  For instance, his workers are given three free meals a day but must eat standing up and working - no sitting.  I have personally purchased furniture at the original location multiple times, which is now much larger than how they began in the 80s, and have observed the owner doing whatever was needed including speaking with customers, manning the phones, and even taking out the trash.  Running a store that has literally hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales in a neighborhood where the average income is near the poverty line, Mack is known for going above and beyond for his community.  He consistently provides furniture for those in need, such as his regular Thanksgiving and Christmas charitable giveaways, and when disaster strikes he can be counted on to be the first person to help.  During emergency situations like Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, Gallery Furniture trucks were on the scene to deliver aid to those who needed it, his storerooms were opened up to first responders and refugees, food and provisions were available to those in need, and money freely poured out of his location even while his own home was flooded by several feet of water.  During Covid, Winter Storm Uri, the 2022 power grid crisis, and Hurricane Beryl, everyone in Houston knew that Mattress Mack would be there to help.  

Jim McIngvale's commitment to community extends heavily into his involvement with local sports teams, especially the Houston Astros and University of Houston.  In 2014, the superfan merged his support of the local baseball team with his creative marketing by offering refunds to high-spending customers if the Astros won at least 63 games - it was the year of his 63rd birthday and it would mark the first time in 3 years that they would avoid losing 100 games.  When the team reached 70 wins Mack sent out over $4 million in refunds, and then took it a step further in 2017 when he promised free furniture for purchases over $3000 if the Astros won the World Series.  He then hedged his giveaway by placing over $1 million in bets on the team.  Houston sports won, Mattress Mack won, and Houston citizens won as over $10 million in refunds went out to customers, many of whom were still recovering from the effects of Harvey.  One of my own friends who I helped clean and move after her apartment flooded was a recipient of free furniture that year.  Not all of Mattress Mack's gambling endeavors have paid off with wins, but most of them have definitely helped increase his public presence and have driven sales among those who feel like they're joining in on the gamble while cheering on their favorite teams.  In 2022, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale set a record when he won $75 million on various bets for the Astros to win the World Series over the Phillies, once again paying back millions in refunds to customers and even chartering a plane to take 80 lucky fans on an all-expenses paid trip to Philadelphia to cheer them on.  To this day Mack is one of the city's favorite citizens, and although his story includes some wild adventures like winning a boxing match against Muhammed Ali or personally funding a Chuck Norris film that had been dropped by its studio, he'll always be best known to Houston for his heart.

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