View source for Davey O'Brien

{{Short description|American football player (1917–1977)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Davey O'Brien
| image       = Davey O'Brien.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = O'Brien {{circa}} 1938
| number      = 8
| position    = [[Quarterback]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1917|6|22|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dallas, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1977|11|18|1917|6|22}}
| death_place = [[Fort Worth, Texas]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 5
| height_in   = 7
| weight_lb   = 151
| high_school = [[Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas)|Woodrow Wilson]] <br> (Dallas, Texas)
| college     = [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]] (1936–1938)
| draftyear   = 1939
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 4
| pastteams   = * [[Philadelphia Eagles]] ({{NFL Year|1939|1940}})
| highlights  = * First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1939 All-Pro Team|1939]])
* [[Pro Bowl|NFL All-Star]] ([[1940 National Football League All-Star Game (January)|1939]])
* [[List of NFL annual passing yards leaders|NFL passing yards leader]] (1939)
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1938 TCU Horned Frogs football team|1938]])
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1938)
* [[Maxwell Award]] (1938)
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1938 College Football All-America Team|1938]])
* 2× First-team All-[[Southwest Conference|SWC]] ([[1937 All-Southwest Conference football team|1937]], [[1938 All-Southwest Conference football team|1938]])
* [[TCU Horned Frogs football#Retired numbers|TCU Horned Frogs No. 8]] retired
* [[Texas Sports Hall of Fame]]
| statlabel1  = Passing attempts
| statvalue1  = 478
| statlabel2  = Passing completions
| statvalue2  = 223
| statlabel3  = Completion percentage
| statvalue3  = 46.7%
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue4  = 11–34
| statlabel5  = Passing yards
| statvalue5  = 2,614
| statlabel6  = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue6  = 41.8
| pfr         = O/OBriDa21
| CollegeHOF  = 2282 
}}

'''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 football|TCU Horned Frogs]], where he won the [[Heisman Trophy]]<ref name=thisprfto>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j3YxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HCIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7035%2C5636360 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=AP photo |title=This proves Davey O'Brien is nation's best gridder |date=December 7, 1938 |page=11, part 2 |access-date=November 28, 2015 |archive-date=May 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515150835/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j3YxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HCIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7035,5636360 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Maxwell Award]] in 1938, the first quarterback to win either.<ref name=tosprnpro>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aKpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2116%2C2220560 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Davey O'Brien to spurn pros |date=January 11, 1939 |page=6 |access-date=November 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209005323/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aKpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2116%2C2220560 |archive-date=December 9, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</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 life==
Born in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], O'Brien played [[high school football]] at its [[Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas)|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>{{cite web | work=Daveyobrien.com | url=http://www.daveyobrien.org/adminnm/templates/aboutus.asp?articleid=26&zoneid=1 | title=Davey O'Brien bio | access-date=February 9, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918134035/http://www.daveyobrien.org/adminnm/templates/aboutus.asp?articleid=26&zoneid=1 | archive-date=September 18, 2008 }}</ref>

==College career==
[[File:Davey obrien qb.jpg|thumb|left|150px|O'Brien with TCU in 1938]]
O'Brien played college football at nearby TCU in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] in [[1935 TCU Horned Frogs football team|1935]] as a backup for [[Sammy Baugh]]. He became the starter in [[1937 TCU Horned Frogs football team|1937]], and was named to the first-team All-[[Southwest Conference]].<ref name=award />

In [[1938 TCU Horned Frogs football team|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 [[National Collegiate Athletics Association|NCAA]] record for most rushing and passing plays in a single season still stands today.<ref name=award />{{dead link|date=September 2017}}  That season, he led the [[1938 TCU Horned Frogs football team|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 Mellon Tartans football|Carnegie Tech]] in the [[1939 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]] and a [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championship]].<ref name=award />  O’Brien was named to 13 [[1938 College Football All-America Team|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>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aqAtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bXEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4207%2C738810 |newspaper=The Day |location=New London, Connecticut |agency=Associated Press |title=Davey O'Brien wants no more football playing |date=January 11, 1939 |page=11 }}</ref>

===College statistics===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Season
! Team
! Cmp
! Att
! Pct
! Yds
! TD
|-
| '''[[1937 college football season|1937]]'''
| '''[[1937 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]'''
| 96
| 237
| 40.5
| 947
| 5
|-
| '''[[1938 college football season|1938]]'''
| '''[[1938 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]'''
| 93
| 166
| 56.0
| 1,457
| 19
|}

==Professional career==
O'Brien was selected in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the [[1939 NFL draft]], held in December 1938.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1939 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1939/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was selected by the [[1939 Philadelphia Eagles season|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>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YAcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fOMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1406%2C1906315 |newspaper=Berkeley Daily Gazette |location=California |last=Turner |first=Leo |agency=United Press |title=Davey O'Brien is signed by Eagles |date=March 22, 1939 |page=11 }}</ref>  O'Brien became the first Heisman trophy winner to play in the NFL.

[[File:O'Brien-Davey-1941.jpg|thumb|left|280px|O'Brien gets hit by [[Tony Furst]] of the Lions after delivering a pass, 1940.]]
In his rookie season in the NFL in [[1939 Philadelphia Eagles season|1939]], O'Brien led the league in passing with 1,324 yards in 11 games,<ref name=profootballhof>{{cite web | work=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] | url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/davey_obrien.jsp | title=Pro Football History: Davey O'Brien | access-date=February 9, 2009}}</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>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uKBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZiIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6516%2C6043314 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |title=Davey O'Brien has appendix removed |date=June 29, 1940 |page=10, part 2 }}</ref> he again led the league in several passing categories in [[1940 Philadelphia Eagles season|1940]], including attempts and completions.<ref name=profootballhof /><ref name=sixprbk>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tAEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gGgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3918%2C5212479 |newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun |location=Maine |agency=Associated Press |title=Six pro grid records broken, one tied in 1940|date=December 3, 1940|page=9}}</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>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7gomAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N_0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2788%2C1595850 |newspaper=Gettysburg Times |location=Pennsylvania |agency=Associated Press |title=Eagles win first game on "Davey O'Brien Day" |date=November 29, 1940 |page=3 }}</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 (American football)|punter]], [[interception|intercepted]] four passes for 92 yards and punted nine times for an average of 40.7 yards per kick.<ref name=profootballhof />

==Life after football==
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|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>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IGpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ERAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7181%2C4718627 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=UPI |title=Oilman backs new grid league |date=July 31, 1959 |page=3, part 2 |access-date=November 28, 2015 |archive-date=December 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209005202/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IGpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ERAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7181%2C4718627 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

O'Brien was also president of the TCU Alumni Association, a [[YMCA]] board member, a chair of the [[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|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 (American football)|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 also==
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders]]
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{College Football HoF|2282}}
* {{Heisman|davey-obrien}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=davey-o-brien |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |si= |pfr=O/OBriDa21 |rotoworld= }}
* {{Find a Grave|6374174}}

{{NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders}}
{{TCU Horned Frogs quarterback navbox}}
{{Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Davey O'Brien—championships, awards, and honors
| list1 =
{{1938 TCU Horned Frogs football navbox}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Maxwell Award Winners}}
{{1938 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1939 NFL Draft}}
{{Eagles1939DraftPicks}}
{{EaglesFirstPick}}
{{NFL passing yardage leaders}}
}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Davey}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Dallas Cowboys announcers]]
[[Category:Federal Bureau of Investigation agents]]
[[Category:Law enforcement officials from Dallas]]
[[Category:Law enforcement officials from Missouri]]
[[Category:Law enforcement officials from Virginia]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles players]]
[[Category:TCU Horned Frogs football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Maxwell Award winners]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Dallas]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Texas]]
[[Category:Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni]]