Stanley Draper Jr.

Stanley Draper Jr., referred to by some as "Mr. Sport", paved the way for Oklahoma City to become a tourism destination through the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association.

Draper joined the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce in 1952, taking over the direction of the Chamber's Sports and Recreation Committee in 1955. At that time, the highlight in OKC's yearly sporting events was the All College Basketball Tournament started by the Oklahoma Publishing Company in 1936. The All College tournament is the oldest college basketball tournament in the nation.

In 1957, the Oklahoma Publishing Company decided to get out of the tournament business and Draper decided to organize a way to keep the tournament going, resulting in the creation of the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association in 1957. The Association's purpose was to take over running the All College Basketball Tournament and encourage the growth of other sporting events to come to the OKC area.

In 1988, Draper retired from the Chamber after 36 years and became the executive director of the All-Sports Association, serving as the Association's top staff person a total of 42 years. He retired in 1999.

Draper's efforts are attributed to promoting events including: The National Finals Rodeo, National Aircraft Show, Aerospace America, International Sports Federation General Assembly, Sooner State Games, 18 NCAA national tournaments, three NCAA regional basketball tournaments and numerous major single events.

He was born in Oklahoma City on April 15, 1923. He attended Kemper Military Academy before going to OU. He education was interrupted in 1942 when he was drafted for World War II. He served in the Army Infantry and Air Corp for three years and completed college in 1949.

After graduating in 1949, Draper worked for an oil company in Saudi Arabia and the Chamber of Commerce in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Draper passed away May 27, 2006.