O'Brien, "Davey" (Robert David)
Football
b. June 22, 1917, Dallas, TX
d. Nov. 18, 1977
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound O'Brien succeeded Sammy Baugh as the tailback in Texas Christian University's pass-oriented spread offense in 1937. The team got off to a slow start that season but O'Brien led them to three victories in a row, over Texas, Rice, and Southern Methodist, for a 4-4-2 record.
In 1938, "Slingshot Davey" really came into his own. TCU won all 10 of its regular season games and then beat Carnegie Tech 15-7 in the Sugar Bowl, when O'Brien completed 17 of 28 passes for 225 yards. He was not only a great passer but a fast, elusive runner, as he demonstrated in a 20-7 win over Southern Methodist. He returned a punt 39 yards to set up a 37-yard touchdown pass that put the game out of reach.
During his career at Texas Christian, O'Brien completed 197 of 432 passes for 2,659 yards. He was named an All-American in 1938 and became the first person ever to win the Camp, Heisman and Maxwell Awards as the nation's outstanding college player.
O'Brien joined the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL in 1939, finished second in the league in passing, and was named to the All-Pro team. In his last game, on December 1, 1940, he completed 33 of 60 passes against the Washington Redskins for 316 yards. O'Brien then retired from football to become an FBI agent.
The Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy was established shortly after O'Brien's death of cancer in 1977. It was originally presented to the outstanding player in the Southwestern Conference. In 1980, it was renamed the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, to be given to the nation's outstanding college quarterback.