Management: The Broadsider

In 1961, Houston's Ernest M. Hall Jr. headed Hall-Sears Inc., an obscure electronics outfit with earnings of $10,781 on gross sales of $95,000. Three years later, Hall merged with a small uranium mining company and became president of the new firm, now known as Westec; its share sold for 4¼ on the American Stock Exchange. For the first half of 1966, Westec announced earnings of $5,345,567 on sales of $31,-693,395; the company's stock soared to a high of 67⅛ in April.

Chief beneficiary was Hall, who held more than 400,000 shares. A...