When did you first get interested in trading? When I was in college I read an article on Richard Dennis, which made a big impression on me. I thought that
Dennis had the greatest job in the world. I already had an appreciation for trading because my uncle, Billy Dunavant,
was a very successful cotton trader. In 1976, after I finished college, I went to my uncle and asked him if he could
help me get started as a trader. He sent me to Eli Tullis, a famous cotton trader, who lived in New Orleans. "Eli is the
best trader I know," he told me. I went down to see Eli and he offered me a job on the floor of the New York Cotton
Exchange.
How come you went to work for Eli instead of your uncle? Because my uncle was primarily involved in the cash side of the business, merchandising cotton. I was
interested in becoming a trader straightaway.
How long did you work on the floor of the exchange? What was your job there? I was a floor clerk; that is how everybody begins. But I also did a lot of analytical work, watching the market
to try to figure out what made it tick. I clerked in New York for about six months and then returned to New Orleans to
work for Eli.
Did you learn a lot about trading from Eli? Absolutely. Working with Eli was a fabulous experience. He would trade position sizes of 3,000 contracts when
the entire market open interest was only 30,000. He would trade more volume than any cotton trader off the floor.
He was a true sight to behold.
Was he trading futures against cash or just speculating? He was a pure speculator. The amazing thing was that since he used his own broker on the floor, everyone
always knew exactly what his position was. He was very easy to tag. Eli's attitude was, "The hell with it, I'm going to
take them head on."
So everyone knew his hand? Definitely.
But, apparently, it didn't hurt him? No.
