166 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



Teague's rapport with Republicans as well as Democrats is best 

 evidenced by President Ford's remarks on February 27, 1975, at the 

 unveiling of a portrait of Chairman Teague in the Science Committee 

 hearing room. The President said: 



I think you are all familiar with the slogan, "Put a tiger in your tank. * * *" 

 I think America can be mighty grateful that 29 years ago some Texans put a tiger in 

 the House * * *. From what we know of those who dealt with him, words of trust 

 and honor — they were the sort of thing that Tiger believed in and acted on and 

 respected * * *. In my younger days, there was a popular song with the words 

 "Hold that tiger." Ladies and gentlemen, here is one Tiger you will never hold. 



The nickname "Tiger" had come naturally to Teague, a 125- 

 pound quarterback on his high school football team at Mena, Ark. 

 Born April 6, 1910, on a wheat farm near Woodward, Okla., he and 

 his family moved fairly early to Arkansas where his father ran lumber 

 camps in the Ozarks. Tiger spent his summer vacations while in high 

 school loading log wagons, driving mule teams, or firing the boilers 

 which powered the saws. He worked his way through Texas A. & M. 

 College, where he studied animal husbandry and for 25 cents an hour 

 fed the college's show calves, shoveled out the stalls, did other odd 

 jobs at the local post office and sold tickets for the Missouri 

 Pacific Railroad. 



One observer, commenting on the difference between Chairman 

 Miller and Chairman Teague, mentioned that with George Miller 

 "He liked to discuss so many different things. If you went in and you 

 wanted to get an answer from him, you would often spend 30 or 40 

 minutes in his pleasantries and his discussions about history or to see 

 his latest gadget or model and listen to him explain all that, and 

 then in two or three minutes you would explain your problem and 

 then you would get your business done. You always got your business 

 done even though it took a long time. Mr. Teague says: Come on in, 

 say what you have to say and get out.' And he does it in such a way 

 that you don't mind it at all." 



In 1963, NASA's Associate Administrator for Manned Space 

 Flight, Brainerd Holmes, had an internal disagreement with Admin- 

 istrator James E. Webb. Holmes, who was very popular with both the 

 committee and Tiger Teague, was replaced by Dr. George E. Mueller 

 who explains that: 



I was aware that Holmes had considerable support in Congress. Anticipating 

 major difficulties working with the committee, I flew to Washington and had my 

 first meeting with Tiger Teague. He didn't pull any punches. 



" I don't like what happened to Brainerd Holmes," he said without any preamble, 

 "but I believe in supporting the job, not the man. I don't have any personal opinion 

 about you, but as long as you do the |ob, I'll support the office. You should know one 

 thing, though. If you double-cross me once, it's your fault. If you double-cross me 

 twice, it's my fault and I never have that problem." 



