Davey O'Brien
| Davey O'Brien | |
|---|---|
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Positions: QB , TB , P |
Jersey number (s): 8 |
| born June 22, 1917 in Dallas , Texas | |
| died on November 18, 1977 in Fort Worth | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1939 - 1940 | |
| NFL Draft : 1939 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th | |
| College : TCU | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| TD - INT | 11-34 |
| fit yards | 2,614 |
| Quarterback rating | 41.8 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Robert David "Davey" O'Brien (born June 22, 1917 in Dallas , Texas , † November 18, 1977 in Fort Worth ) was an American football player who was in college football from 1935 to 1938 as a quarterback for the team from Texas Christian University (TCU) and played as a professional for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League (NFL) in 1939/1940 . He won the national championship with the TCU Horned Frogs in 1938 and was honored that same year as best college football player with the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award .
The Davey O'Brien Award , given each season to the best quarterback in college football, is named after him.
Life
Davey O'Brien was born in Dallas in 1917 and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in his hometown . From 1935 he played in college football as a quarterback for the team of the Horned Frogs from Texas Christian University , in which he was initially a substitute for Sammy Baugh and was part of the starting lineup from 1937. In 1938, the team managed to win the national championship under his leadership after an undefeated season including a win at the Sugar Bowl . Distinctive for Davey O'Brien was the offensive game of the TCU Horned Frogs at the time and an unusually high number of pass throws and their precision for the style of play of this era , which gave him the nickname Slingshot ("catapult").
In the NFL Draft of 1939 he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles , for whom he played in the National Football League (NFL) in 1939 and 1940 as both quarterback and defensive back and punter . He became the first Heisman winner to be active in the NFL. After retiring from professional sports, he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) until 1950 and then for various companies in the oil industry. From 1960 to 1964 he was a commentator on television broadcasts of games by the Dallas Cowboys . He died in Fort Worth in 1977 as a result of longstanding cancer .
Awards
Davey O'Brien was honored with the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award for best college football player in 1938 for his seasonal performance and was voted All-American by 13 different organizations . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame a year later . The Davey O'Brien Award is named after him and has been presented annually to the best quarterback in college football since 1981.
literature
- O'Brien, Davey. In: John Arthur Garraty (Ed.), Mark Christopher Carnes (Ed.): American National Biography. Volume 16: Mosler − Parish. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-512795-1 , p. 585
Web links
- Heisman Trophy 1938 - 4th Award: Davey O'Brien ( Memento from October 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English, with picture)
- College Football Hall of Fame - Davey "Slingshot" O'Brien ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (English, with picture)
- The Davey O'Brien Award - About us: Robert David "Davey" O'Brien ( Memento from April 14, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | O'Brien, Davey |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | O'Brien, Robert David (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and winner of the 1938 Heisman Trophy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 22, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dallas , Texas , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 18, 1977 |
| Place of death | Fort Worth , Texas , United States |