The athletic statues of Gary Patterson, Dutch Meyer, and Davey O’Brien stand proudly outside of the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena, and the John and Jane Justin Hall of Fame on Texas Christian University's campus. The statues were revealed to the campus and community on April 2nd, 2016, and were donated by Bill and Sue Parrish (1). The statues of these three men were chosen by the Parrish family because of their time spent at TCU, and their talent within the athletics and football program. Without the Parrish family and their dedication and passion for this project, these three statues would not be represented on TCU's campus.
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Bill and Sue Parrish Athletic Statues
Location: TCU Campus outside of Schollmaier Arena Donated by: Bill and Sue Parrish Featured people: Gary Patterson, Davey O'Brien, and Dutch Meyer Cost: $300,000 Date established: April 2nd, 2016 |
Leo Robert Meyer who was nicknamed "Dutch" was a football, basketball and baseball player and coach. Born in Ellinger, Texas in 1898, he grew up in Waco and went on to play football, baseball, and basketball at TCU (during the time that TCU was located in Waco). In 1923 he became the assistant coach at TCU and was later named head coach in 1934. Meyer remained as the head football coach at TCU for nineteen years. His greatest accomplishment was in the years of 1935 and 1938 when the Horned Frogs were recognized as national champions. During those nineteen years, he accomplished 109 victories on the football field, which used to be more than any other coach in the school's history, before Gary Patterson. Meyer was also the head basketball coach at TCU from 1934 to 1937, and head baseball coach in 1926-1934, 1945, and 1956-1957. He retired as a coach in 1953 and became the athletic director for TCU for ten years (5). Meyer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1956. In 1961 the TCU basketball facility was named the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in honor of Coach Meyer and Milton E. Daniel, who is a TCU trustee. After renovations in 2015 the facility was renamed the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena, who were both philanthropic leaders in Fort Worth. Meyer became well known for his spread formations and overall coaching style (6). These can best be summed up in one of his well known sayings "Fight 'em until hell freezes over. Then fight 'em on the ice!(7)" This quote is still given to TCU athletes before they go out to compete and is remembered on the walls of the football locker room. There is currently a burger joint on University Drive right next to TCU's campus called "Dutch's" that is dedicated to the former TCU coach (8).
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Photo taken by Marissa Cuevas
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Robert David O'Brien was a football quarterback for Texas Christian University. He was born in Dallas, Texas and played football at his high school where he was selected as All-State and led his team to the state playoffs. O'Brien begin his college football career at TCU in 1935 as a second-string quarterback, right behind Sammy Baugh, and then became the starter in 1937 when Baugh graduated. In 1938 he led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated season and finished with a victory over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a national championship title coached by Dutch Meyer. O’Brien became the first player to win the Heisman and Maxwell awards in his last season at TCU (9). In 1939 O’Brien was the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles (10). In his rookie season, O'Brien led the league in passing yards (11). After Philadelphia finished last in their league in 1940, he retired (12). For ten years he was an agent in the FBI starting in Missouri and ending in his hometown Dallas. When he resigned from the bureau in 1950 O’Brien worked a few years in land development for H. L. Hunt (13). After leaving land development he entered the oil business in Dallas. He stayed involved with his Alma Mater by being president of the TCU Alumni Association. O’Brien was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. As well as the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1956. O’Brien was a commentator on the Dallas Cowboys telecasts in 1960 for four years. In 1971, O'Brien was diagnosed with cancer and died from the disease in 1977. Since 1981, the Davey O'Brien Award has been annually presented to the best quarterback in college football.
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Photo taken by Marissa Cuevas
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Gary Patterson is the current head football coach at Texas Christian University. He grew up in Rozel, Kansas and played college football at Kansas State University in 1983 where he received a bachelor's degree in physical education (14). Patterson’s coaching career began as an assistant to the Head Coach at Kansas State University. He then served as the linebacker’s coach at Tennessee Tech alongside Dennis Franchione who he later followed to Texas Christian University in 1998. In December 2000 Franchione left TCU to become the head coach at Alabama and left the football program in the hands of Patterson. As of today, one of Paterson's greatest accomplishments at TCU was in 2010 when he led the Horned Frogs to a second consecutive undefeated regular season. This led TCU to receive their first invitation to the Rose Bowl in 2011 where they defeated Wisconsin. Patterson led the Horned Frogs to their first Big 12 title win in 2014, after facing two tough seasons in 2012 and 2013. Patterson has also passed Dutch Meyer as the coach with the most wins in the history of the TCU football program with 110 wins (15). During the offseason Patterson performs at charity events playing his guitar around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 2006, he formed a nonprofit organization called the Gary Patterson Foundation to support economically disadvantaged children. The Foundation provides funding for educational programs and offers scholarships that focus on education, health & family issues (16). He runs this foundation with his wife Kelsey Hayes who he has three sons with named Josh, Cade and Blake and a grandson Knox. When Patterson was given the idea of the statues he turned it down but after health situations occurred with the donating family he felt the need to go with it. In an interview with the Dallas Sports News, Patterson was asked how he felt about the statue of him being put up next to two TCU football legends and he responded with, “ For me I feel like we have a lot of work left to do. So in honor of the family, in honor of TCU, the former players, everybody who's been here in the 19 years I've been at TCU, we're going to do it for them but for me it's one of those things where I feel like we still have a lot of unfinished business.”(17)
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Photo taken by Marissa Cuevas
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