Stephen Murrin, Jr., is a Fort Worth businessman, a Realtor and developer, civic leader, patron of the arts, and former city councilman. But to many, he is known as the “Mayor of Cowtown,” an honorific of both symbolism and substance.
More than anyone, Steve, beginning in 1973, led the fight to revive and refurbish the area of north Fort Worth known as the Stockyards. It was always a difficult, and frequently a lonely, struggle. Though such important touchstones to our history and Western heritage, the Stockyards had aged badly through neglect and abuse. Many would stand in the middle of Exchange Avenue and see only despair and decay, and say: bulldoze, now. Not Steve, for what he saw was a vision, a dream–a thriving monument not only to history but to commerce and entertainment as well.
So Steve Murrin invested his money, his sweat and his vision. Anyone within earshot of Steve the last 30 plus years quickly learned the Stockyards’ story and why it was important to Fort Worth and Texas. The restoration of the historic Cowtown Coliseum is but one example of his leadership and hard work.
In 1976 Steve was able to reverse a city council action that would have prevented the coliseum from hosting a rodeo for 30 years, until 2006.
Steve, born in Fort Worth, was reared on a ranch, the Westfork, set quaintly among the rolling hills just west of Fort Worth, where he lives with his wife Dashelle. Still a working ranch, it has been in his family since the 1930’s. Steve attended Arlington Heights High School, Holy Cross College in Massachusetts, and received his Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His three children, who also attended Arlington Heights, are Stephen, Lou, and Philip.