Davey O’Brien has been honored through a newly commissioned portrait within a collection of fine art portraits depicting six legendary players and coaches of the TCU football program has been unveiled. Sportfolio Group created the collection including Davey O’brien in conjunction with the athletic department at TCU. The original oil paintings were received by TCU on February 4, 2009 and will be displayed on campus at a yet-to-be-determined location.
For a limited time, Sportfolio Group is offering a free 24” x 18” numbered giclee archival paper print for free with a regular order of a 20” x 16” stretched canvas print.
Click for more information about the “2008 TCU Legacy Collection”
The subjects of the paintings were selected by TCU for the 2008 season-long recognition. The five players and one coach depicted include Davey O’brien, Sammy Baugh, Bob Lilly, Jim Swink, LaDainian Tomlinson and Coach “Dutch” Meyer. Sportfolio Group was awarded the honor of painting a special collection of portraits of these athletes who have brought fame and glory to TCU football over the years.
Sportfolio Group will offer limited edition giclee prints of the collection with a percentage of the proceeds going to TCU. These unique action paintings were painted by Sportfolio Group artist, Craig Gould. Each painting has
been faithfully reproduced as 20" x 16" giclee prints
stretched on canvas in a limited edition of 250.
Purchase of these archival, limited edition high quality giclee prints can be made at the Sportfolio Group website: www.sportfoliogroup.com click for more information.
Davey O’Brien was named to 13 All-America teams and became the first player to win the Heisman, Maxwell and Walter Camp trophies in the same year.
Davey O’brien entered TCU in 1935 and sat on the bench behind the legendary Sammy Baugh. In 1937. TCU fell to a mediocre 4-4-2 record during O’Brien’s first season as starting quarterback. However, Davey O’brien began to make a name for himself being named to the first-team All-Southwest Conference.
In 1938, Davey O’brien led the Horned Frogs to their first undefeated season, including a 15-7 victory over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl, and the National Championship Title.
Davey O’brien was born in Dallas on June 22, 1917. Early in his life, he quarterbacked a sandlot football team named the Gaston Avenue Bulldogs and spent several summers at the Kanakuk Boys Kamp near Branson, Mo. Davey O’brien was a 118-pound, five-foot-seven All-State selection who led Woodrow Wilson High School to the Texas state playoffs in 1932.
Click for more information about the “2008 TCU Legacy Collection”
When he went to New York to accept the Heisman Trophy, Amon Carter and other Fort Worth boosters hired a stagecoach to carry him to the Downtown Athletic Club.? ?After graduating from TCU, Davey O’brien signed a $10,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). In his rookie season with the Eagles, he passed for 1,324 yards in 11 games, breaking fellow TCU alum, Baugh’s, NFL record and was named first-team quarterback on the NFL's All-Star Team. The Eagles gave Davey O’brien a $2,000 raise, but he retired after the 1940 season to join the FBI.
Davey O’brien was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1956.
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.
For more information about the “2008 TCU Legacy Collection” and the Davey O’Brien portrait, contact Sportfolio Group at info@sportfoliogroup.com or see the full collection at www.sportfoliogroup.com. Phone inquiries can be made to 214-403-9171.
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