NEW ORLEANS (November 3, 2022) – The undefeated TCU football team has climbed to No. 7 in the AP Poll bringing back memories of one of its greatest eras – the late 1930s when the Horned Frogs won a pair of Sugar Bowls. This week, the Allstate Sugar Bowl is "
turning back the clock" to January 2, 1939 when TCU and its legendary quarterback Davey O'Brien posted a 15-7 victory over Carnegie Tech in New Orleans.
Full History Story –
1939 Sugar Bowl
Despite being the smallest quarterback in the land at 5-7, TCU's O'Brien was the biggest name in college football having collected the Heisman Trophy as the top player in the country in December. O'Brien and the undefeated and untied Horned Frogs were expected to wrap up their perfect season in the fifth annual Sugar Bowl, but Carnegie Tech gave TCU a run.
While Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon, may seem like a surprising invitee to a major bowl game, the Tartans were ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 7-1 record and had earned the Lambert Trophy, symbolic of Eastern supremacy. The Horned Frogs were eager for a potent opponent.
"If the Sugar Bowl can get Carnegie Tech," wrote Flem Hall of the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "the boys might prefer such an opponent to a beaten California or a twice-beaten Southern Cal team [in the Rose Bowl]."
Dick Freeman from the
Houston Chronicle wrote, "Get TCU in there with Carnegie Tech and the state of Texas will move to New Orleans."
The Frogs opened the scoring when Connie Sparks scored through the pile from the one-yard line in the first quarter. But after TCU missed the extra point, the Tartans converted on fourth-and-sixth and then Pete Moroz backpedaled before finding George Muha for a 44-yard scoring play. With the extra point, Carnegie became the first team to lead the Frogs all season long.
However, O'Brien quickly responded. On the first drive of the second half, he flicked a dart to Durwood Horner, who grabbed it at the 29, wheeled and went the distance untouched.
Carnegie Tech nearly kept itself alive in the fourth quarter, holding the Frogs at the one, but O'Brien's 20-yard field-goal attempt was good for a 15-7 advantage.
Muha almost broke the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but All-American Ki Aldrich caught him from behind and then O'Brien stepped up again, picking off a pass at the TCU 21 to ice the victory.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will feature top teams from the SEC and the Big 12, is scheduled to be played on December 31, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-AllstateSugarBowl.org-
