I want to wash my eyes with bleach, and clean my ears with sewing needles.

In 1989, Schieffer became a partner of George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose in Ballpark Development, the company that bought the Texas Rangers baseball club. He invested US$1.4 million in the venture, and was responsible for the operations of the company as well as the building of The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. By the time Bush was elected Republican Governor of Texas in 1994, Schieffer was identified as a political supporter.

The partnership sold the team in June 1998, with all the partners realizing very large profits, but Schieffer stayed on until April 1999, when he resigned to become a consultant. He then formed the J. Thomas Schieffer Management Company, which he headed until he was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Australia by the incoming Bush Administration in 2001. He also served on the boards of the Penrose Foundation, the Dallas County Community College Foundation, the Dallas 2012 Olympic Committee, the Tarrant County College Foundation and the Winston School. He was also a member of the executive committee of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce where he co-chaired the Legislative Affairs Committee.