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The story of the GJ crew starts in 1979 when a salesman named Dave decided to change directions in his career and own his own pizza restaurant. He bought the small existing restaurant called Grand Junction Pizza,
Spanish Village @ Coit & Arapaho Rd, Dallas, Texas and hired very intelligent and industrious group of high school students that became the infamous GJ Crew.
The store struggled initially but with the help of our dynamic crew members turned the business into a big success. Our reign lasted 7 years.
Those years were the most exciting, fun and rewarding years of our lives. We developed a friendship that lasts to this day and we remember those bonds every year with an Annual GJ Thanksgiving Day Football Game.
We are the GJ Crew and this is our story.
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Sports Illustrated Article |
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See Rosy's article in Sports Illustrated. Click on SI
Cover page picture below:
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The Story of
Grand Junction Pizza |
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By Dale "The Captain" Conkel
Dallas, Texas
November 15, 2006
Since 1980 this band of pizza slinging
professionals has been meeting every Thanksgiving Day to play
touch football. They are transformed from various professional
backgrounds such as Dentist, Pension Benefits Consultant, Optometrist,
Insurance Salesmen, or Computer specialists into mythical
gridiron warriors.
They are in their 40's and now their
children are playing too. It's a tradition that has lasted the
test of time and has kept them in touch with each other all
these years. They are a testimony to the fact that friends can
last forever.
Working together for several years in a
small pizza place called Grand Junction Pizza in Dallas, Texas
these want-to-be football players went to high school together
and remained friends since 1979.
Some of the players have nicknames:
"Toad" , "Captain", "Rosy",
"Wench", "Mighty" and
"Jim-Bob" to mention a few.
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Next Turkey Bowl XLIV (44th) |
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Our next game is tentatively scheduled for,
Saturday, November 30, 2024 at 10:00am at
Westwood Junior High, 7630 Arapaho Rd, Dallas, Texas
Click
here for map
November 27, 2014 - They are almost finished building the new
Walmart but still have left the Spanish Village maquis. July 16, 2013 - After 100's of people boycotted the
building of Wal-Mart the city council decided in favor of
building. Spanish Village was leveled to make way for a new
Wal-Mart.
History of
Spanish Village
Spanish
Village lies in the heart of a well-educated and affluent
demographic. Over 365,000 people live within a five mile radius
of the center. Within one mile, the average income is nearly
$130,000 per year. And that's just the beginning:
click here for all the data. (Requires
Acrobat Reader)
The customers who visit Spanish Village are highly educated.
There are some 30 schools within 2 miles of the center,
including UT/Dallas.
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