you never knew whether he would be on the sidelines or come walking down your aisle with two pennants in his hand leading cheers. I will never forget him throwing down and stomping on the Redskins pennant and then holding up the Cowboys pennant, yelling "C-O-W-B-O-Y-S." Pure Silver and Blue, through and through.
Jack Lloyd, Scottsdale, Ariz.: The first time I met Crazy Ray was at the Cotton Bowl on Thanksgiving, 1966. It was my first day to get to sell pre-game programs instead of just Cokes at a Cowboys game. Ray was the King of Crowd Vending and he helped me a lot (I was only 16). That day the Cowboys were playing the Browns and there was a huge crowd. Ray had a bad case of laryngitis and could hardly talk, so he used a "bird whistle" to get attention from the crowd. In those days, Ray wore a black top hat with a fountain dispenser mounted on it instead of his later famous Cowboys gear. Anyway, even without being able to hardly talk, I bet he still outsold every other vendor that day as he did most days. He was really quite an outgoing, fun sort of guy who loved the Cowboys.
Robert Espinoza, Laredo, Texas: Me and my two brothers are 150 percent Cowboys fans. We would always see Crazy Ray on television for Cowboys games. Then in 1999, we went to our first game - the Cowboys vs. Redskins at Texas Stadium. On our way out of the Stadium we saw Crazy Ray and the Redskins mascot having a conversation. We asked them both for a picture. We were fortunate to take a picture with both Crazy Ray and the Redskins guy dressed like an Indian. I have that picture hanging in my Cowboys-themed den. Crazy Ray was in a wheelchair and he looked tired but he still took the time to take a picture with us. Our prayers are with the family, and may God bless the Jones family.
Andrew Olmos, San Antonio, Texas: My father worked on Crazy Ray's car, and he worked with the dealership that gave him the car to replace the one stolen and found trashed. Let me just say that man was a saint. I met him when I was a kid in Dallas, and he was helping all the kids catch fish at the boat show and making balloon animals for them. That man really impacted my life growing up. I'm gonna miss him.
David Jones, Latham, N.Y.: Hey, I happened to buy on eBay last year a tape of an old Cowboys game vs. Washington, with Crazy Ray on it, from 1985 when they beat up on Washington, 44-14. I was only 13 years old and remember the game. It was a nice tribute seeing him smile and doing his show. As we say on the railroad, "Ray, you have them all moving back here and look good. Have a good trip and thanks for all the memories."
Mike Kasanoff, Chicago: I'll always remember Ray for the anonymous, loud whistling heard throughout the Cotton Bowl and Texas Stadium, not the television images portraying him in later years. I have only attended less than a handful of Cowboys games in person, yet, the first one or two I went to see were punctuated with the strange and exciting whistles of Whistling Ray hidden somewhere in the stands.
Scott Napravnik, North Brunswick, N.J.: I only could send $25 to the Crazy Ray Foundation (www.savecrazyray.com), but I had to at least send something. I remember watching him get the fans into the game when I was young and now that I come to the games, it's not the same. Rowdy is good but no one can replace Crazy Ray! The one and only real, live mascot of the Cowboys!
William Riggs, Dallas: I think it would be most fitting to have a statue of him at the new stadium to welcome the fans to each event held there. He was such a fixture; it would keep him in our hearts forever. I can see all of us who had the privilege of seeing him retelling the stories of Crazy Ray to succeeding generations of Cowboys fans.
Rick Burch, North Kingstown,
