Davey O'Brien
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Robert David O'Brien (June 22, 1917 – November 18, 1977) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he won the Heisman Trophy<ref name=thisprfto>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Maxwell Award in 1938, the first quarterback to win either.<ref name=tosprnpro>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the fourth overall pick of the 1939 NFL draft. O'Brien was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
Since 1981, the Davey O'Brien Award is given annually to the best quarterback in college football.
Early lifeEdit
Born in Dallas, Texas, O'Brien played high school football at its Woodrow Wilson High School. He was an All-State selection and led the high school to the Texas state playoffs in 1932.<ref name=award>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
College careerEdit
O'Brien played college football at nearby TCU in Fort Worth in 1935 as a backup for Sammy Baugh. He became the starter in 1937, and was named to the first-team All-Southwest Conference.<ref name=award />
In 1938, O'Brien threw for 1,457 yards – a Southwest Conference passing record that stood for ten years. He had only four interceptions in 194 attempts, and his NCAA record for most rushing and passing plays in a single season still stands today.<ref name=award />Template:Dead link That season, he led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated season, as they outscored their opponents by a 269–60 margin and held nine of their ten regular-season opponents to seven points or less, including three shutouts.<ref name=award /> TCU finished the season with a 15–7 victory over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a national championship.<ref name=award /> O’Brien was named to 13 All-America teams and became the first player to win the Heisman and Maxwell awards in the same year. He was the first Heisman winner from TCU and the Southwest Conference.<ref name=award /> Off the field, he was also an honorary member Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Texas Gamma chapter. He majored in geology and expressed little interest in pro football in January 1939.<ref name=tosprnpro/><ref name=nmfgblyg>Template:Cite news</ref>
College statisticsEdit
| Season | Team | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | TCU | 96 | 237 | 40.5 | 947 | 5 |
| 1938 | TCU | 93 | 166 | 56.0 | 1,457 | 19 |
Professional careerEdit
O'Brien was selected in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 1939 NFL draft, held in December 1938.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles, and owner Bert Bell gave him a $12,000 bonus and a two-year contract, and he signed with the team in March.<ref name=sbeaglss>Template:Cite news</ref> O'Brien became the first Heisman trophy winner to play in the NFL.
In his rookie season in the NFL in 1939, O'Brien led the league in passing with 1,324 yards in 11 games,<ref name=profootballhof>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> breaking his old TCU teammate Sammy Baugh's single season passing yardage record, but the Eagles finished at 1–9–1. After an appendectomy in late June,<ref name=appdx>Template:Cite news</ref> he again led the league in several passing categories in 1940, including attempts and completions.<ref name=profootballhof /><ref name=sixprbk>Template:Cite news</ref>
Despite O'Brien's efforts, Philadelphia lost their first nine games and finished at 1–10, last in the ten-team league. The Eagles offered O'Brien a $2,000 raise for 1941,<ref name=award /><ref name=ewfgodobd>Template:Cite news</ref> but he retired after the 1940 season to take a government job.<ref>Rocky Wolfe, "A Squint at the League," Pro Football Illustrated 1971. Mt. Morris, IL: Elbak Publishing Co., 1941; p. 8.</ref>
In his professional career, O'Brien completed 223 of 478 passes for 2,614 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also a defensive back and punter, intercepted four passes for 92 yards and punted nine times for an average of 40.7 yards per kick.<ref name=profootballhof />
Life after footballEdit
After two seasons with the Eagles, O'Brien retired from football to become an agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),<ref name=ewfgodobd/> where he worked for ten years. After completing his training, he was assigned to the bureau's field office in Springfield, Missouri. He was a firearms instructor at Quantico, Virginia, and spent the last five years of his FBI career in Dallas.<ref name=award /> He resigned from the bureau in 1950 and went to work for H. L. Hunt in land development. O'Brien later entered the oil business, working for Dresser Atlas Industries of Dallas<ref name=award /> and was an adviser to Lamar Hunt during the founding of the American Football League.<ref name=olmnbcks>Template:Cite news</ref>
O'Brien was also president of the TCU Alumni Association, a YMCA board member, a chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, a supporter of Golden Gloves youth boxing programs, and a deacon of University Christian Church. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1956. From 1960 to 1964, he was the color commentator on Dallas Cowboys telecasts.
In 1971, O'Brien was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery to remove a kidney and part of his right lung, but eventually died from the disease on November 18, 1977.<ref name=award />
When Tim Brown won the Heisman Trophy in 1987, it made Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas the distinction of being the first to produce two Heisman winners.
In 1989, O'Brien (posthumously) and Brown were inducted together into Woodrow Wilson High School's newly created Hall of Fame in celebration of the school's 60th anniversary.
See alsoEdit
- List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders
- List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders Template:TCU Horned Frogs quarterback navbox Template:Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback navbox Template:Navboxes