AUSTIN — Today, Commissioner George P. Bush announced the winner of the 2019 Top Texan Tournament, with Sam Houston reclaiming his title after two consecutive wins in 2016 and 2017. 

“I’m pleased to announce that Sam Houston has earned enough votes to be crowned the 2019 Top Texan in Texas History," said Commissioner George P. Bush. " While I’m obviously disappointed my bracket was busted, I applaud Sam Houston for his impressive record of service to Texas that spanned decades. He commanded the Texas Army at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto, was a multiple-time President of the Republic of Texas, and later served terms as governor and U.S. senator for the state of Texas. Now he can add “Three-time Top Texan winner” to his list of achievements.  Thank you to the thousands of Texans who took part in the Top Texan Tournament, and took the time to learn more about 64 great Texans. This tournament is one of the educational programs that the Save Texas History program of the General Land Office operates to help educate Texans about the rich history of our great state.”

Sam Houston also known as "The Raven" served as an American soldier and politician. As one of the two first individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate, he also served as the 1st and 3rd president of the Republic of Texas, 6th Governor of Tennessee and the 7th Governor of Texas. Most importantly, Sam Houston was a heroic soldier who played a significant role in the Texas Revolution as he led the Texian Army to victory in one of Texas's most famous historic battles, the Battle of San Jacinto, the battle in Texas's war for independence against Mexico. Because of him, independence for Texas was secured. 

 About Save Texas History 

Created in 2004, the Save Texas History program is a statewide initiative to rally public support and private funding for the preservation and promotion of the historic maps and documents housed in the GLO Archives, and serves as a resource for teaching and digitizing Texas history. If you would like to donate to the Save Texas History program to adopt a document or collection, assist with archival acquisitions, develop educational programs, or support digital projects, please visit SaveTexasHistory.org.

You can follow Save Texas History at Facebook.com/SaveTXHistory and Twitter at Twitter.com/SaveTxHistory.