[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Jan. 13, 1903, the day he began his third term in the Texas House of Representatives, Pat Neff was elected Speaker making him at age 31 the youngest in the history of the Lone Star legislature.

Two years later, the rising star caught everybody by surprise with the announcement that he would not seek another term. The burned-out politician went home to Waco and back to his original calling, the practice of law.

In a matter of months, Neff’s many admirers practically draf...