Champions have long defined the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The list of Hall of Fame athletes who have competed in the annual contest is breathtaking. Heisman Trophy winners, future NFL Super Bowl champions and national championship coaches have made their mark in the annual game that brings in thousands of fans to New Orleans and millions of television viewers. But the list of Sugar Bowl champions extends well past the gridiron. There is a long list of distinguished individuals who have proven themselves to be champions in life as well – the Sugar Bowl has highlighted these lesser known success stories with a series of online stories.
We Believe in Champions
Above the door to the old football offices at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium is etched the Latin phrase, “Crede Quod Habeus et Habes” – “Believe that you can, and you will.”
At Tulane Stadium on January 1, 1939, with his team trailing Carnegie Tech, 7-6 in the Sugar Bowl, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Davey O’Brien, channeled that motto – imploring his Horned Frog teammates to do just that, telling them to keep their poise, play like they knew how to play and that they would win the game.
Five plays into the second half, he connected with Durwood Homer for a 44-yard touchdown pass that put TCU back in the lead, although he would again miss the extra point.
O’Brien would go on to make a 20-yard field goal and come up with an interception late in the game to seal a 15-7 victory.
For the day, O’Brien threw 224 yards, a Sugar Bowl record that stood until 1963 and also punted for a 40-yard average.
It was a performance that earned O’Brien a spot in the inaugural Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame.
To fabled sports writer and TCU graduate Dan Jenkins, who, as a child growing up in Fort Worth saw all of O’Brien’s home games, “Davey could do it all. Not just passing but running – he bounced off tackles like a rubber ball. Never got injured and often played 60 minutes.
“His heart was bigger than the whole team and his leadership skills may have been his greatest quality. An amazing player.”
After a short two-year stint in the NFL, O’Brien became a well-respected FBI agent for 10 years. In 1950, O’Brien made another career switch – putting the geology degree he’d earned at TCU to good use as an oil man, working for H.L. Hunt among others before eventually starting his own firm. He was also active in the community with the YMCA and Golden Gloves while remaining a diehard support of TCU until his death in 1977.
“I’m sure that being Davey O’Brien opened doors for him,” his son David Jr. said. “But he was a working oil man. My father was extremely modest. My favorite stories about him are from people who talk about how nice he was.”
“The Sugar Bowl has had a longtime goal of preserving our past,” said Paul Hoolahan, the organization’s chief operating officer. “Most college football fans know about Davey O’Brien the football player, but we want people to know that many former stars have gone on to tremendous success off the field as well.”
From its earliest years, the Sugar Bowl Committee has been honored to provide opportunities for young athletes from around the country, athletes like Davey O’Brien. That’s because, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, We Believe in Champions.
Photo Courtesy of the Davey O’Brien Foundation
