ALL-TIME TCU LEGENDS DUTCH MEYER (HEAD COACH 1934-52)
L.R. (Dutch) Meyer ranks as one of college football’s true coaching legends, leading the Horned Frogs as head coach from 1934 to 1953 and then as the director of athletics from 1950-63. Under his guidance, the Frogs won two national championships (1935 and 1938) and a trio of Southwest Conference titles. During that 20-year period “The Saturday Fox” – a master of the major upset – helped TCU to a 138-82-15 record as well as posting an 85-71 varsity baseball mark. An innovator, inspirational orator, and football tactician of immense talents, Meyer introduced to college football the spread offense, thus enhancing the passing game with the help of two of the greatest passers in the game: Davey O’Brien and Sammy Baugh. Meyer spent his entire career at TCU, gaining the nickname in the Fort Worth area of “Mr. Football.” He began his Horned Frog career as the freshman coach in 1923 before gaining the head coaching position in 1934. He led TCU to seven bowl games.
SAM BAUGH (1934-36)
Perhaps no other player made a more powerful impact on football in the Southwest than did Slingin’ Sammy Baugh of TCU during the 1930s. A flawless passer, a dandy punter and a gifted defensive back, the angular Baugh was called by Dutch Meyer “the greatest athlete I ever saw.” Generally considered the first of the great passers in college football, all Baugh did was rewrite the SWC and TCU passing and punting record books and sprinkle in a few interception (not thrown but caught) marks for good measure. Some of his school records stood for over 50 years. In three years (1934-35-36), Baugh, whose jersey was formally retired by TCU in 1993, deftly helped the Horned Frogs to 29 victories, a Sugar Bowl crown and a Cotton Bowl title. The Sweetwater, Texas native was a unanimous twotime All-SWC selection and a consensus All-American in 1936. He later became a nine-time All-Pro during his 16 illustrious seasons with the Washington Redskins. Baugh is a member of every collegiate and professional football hall of fame.
HORNED FROG HISTORY
2009 HORNED FROG FOOTBALL
THE DUTCH MEYER YEARS
Year Wins 1934 8 1935 12 1936 9 1937 4 1938 11 1939 3 1940 3 1941 7 1942 7 1943 2 1944 7 1945 5 1946 2 1947 4 1948 4 1949 6 1950 5 1951 6 1952 4 Totals 109
Losses 4 1 2 4 0 7 7 3 3 6 3 5 7 5 5 3 5 5 4 79
Ties 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 14
Pct. Notes .667 .923 * .923 .500 1.000 #, * .300 .300 .682 .682 .250 .682 # .500 .250 .455 .450 .650 .500 .556 # .500 .817
Notes: *-National Champs; #-SWC Champs
JOHNNY VAUGHT (1934-36)
Rare individuals come along who leave their Hall of Fame Marks on the gridiron as both a player and coach; former TCU great Johnny Vaught managed to pull it off, captaining the Horned Frogs’ 1932 conference champions and heading the Ole Miss football program for a quarter century. From 1930-32, he earned All-Southwest Conference honors twice and consensus All-America honors as a guard. Vaught, the first genuine All-American footballer developed and displayed on the Fort Worth playing fields, served as a standout lineman for the Horned Frog teams during the 1930-31-32 campaigns. He helped the team to a 28-4-2 record and its second-ever SWC championship under the leadership of Coach Francis Schmidt. Vaught began his coaching career at North Carolina from 193641. In 1946, he assisted at the Ole Miss for a year before moving up to head coach in 1947. In his 25-season tenure with the Rebels, 18 of his teams went to bowl games, 10 rated in the nation’s Top 10, and four ranked among the Top Five. He led the school to six Southeastern Conference titles and compiled190 victories before retiring in 1970. An election to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame followed soon after in 1979.
BAUGH’S Career Stats
Passing Att Comp Yards TDs 597 285 3,471 39
Punting Punts Yards 198 8,108
Avg. 40.9
Longest 85
DAVEY O’BRIEN (1936-38)
Davey O’Brien became the first person to win the Heisman, Walter Camp and Maxwell trophies as the nation’s outstanding football player. After directing the Horned Frogs to the national championship in 1938, he was the first winner of the coveted Heisman to come from the Southwest Conference. He did it all – running, passing, place-kicking, returning kicks, punting and intercepting passes. O’Brien held national records for number of punts returned in a season (58 in 1937); total punt and kickoff returns in a season (72 in 1937); and total punt returns in a career (116). He held many other passing and total offense records that slowly have been broken through the years. He led the nation in passing both in 1937 and 1938, and was the top in total offense across the United States in 1938. The Horned Frogs’ amazing quarterback threw a touchdown pass in every game in 1938. He played all but 14 minutes of the entire 1937 season.
Rushing Yds TD 928 10
O’Brien’s Career Stats
Passing Att. Comp 432 203
Yards 2,659
TD 24
Tot Off PAT’s 3,587 35-44
FGs 3-4
W W W.G O F R O G S .C O M
175