John David Crow, a 1976 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Texas A&M University, passed away June 17. He was 79 years old.
Born in Marion, La., on July 8, 1935, Crow became Texas A&M’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 1957 while playing for legendary College Football Hall of Fame coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He is the only Heisman Trophy winner to play for the fabled coach, and he remained A&M’s lone recipient until quarterback Johnny Manziel won the award in 2012.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound halfback averaged 4.9 yards per carry in his three years at Texas A&M while leading the Aggies to a 24-5-2 record. In 1957, Crow claimed a long list of impressive honors, including unanimous All-America accolades, the Heisman, Player of the Year from both the Walter Camp Foundation and Washington Touchdown Club, and United Press Back of the Year. During his Heisman season, he carried the ball 129 times for 562 yards, scoring six touchdowns and passing for five more. A two-way player, he also recorded five interceptions that season. Crow was named a scholastic All-American in 1957, and he was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities
He played professionally with the Cardinals and 49ers (1958-68), and he served as captain on both teams. After his playing career, he became an assistant coach under Bryant at Alabama from 1969-71 before coaching stints with the Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers. In 1975, he was named athletics director and head football coach at Northeast Louisiana (now known as Louisiana at Monroe), where he achieved a 20-34-1 record in five seasons.
He returned to Texas A&M as an associate athletics director in 1983 before serving as athletics director from 1988-93. He later served as the Aggies director of development for athletics until his retirement in 2001. He was named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M; received the Doak Walker Legends Award in 2004; earned induction into both the Texas and Louisiana Sports Halls of Fame. Crow and his wife Carolyn had three children: John David Jr., Annalisa and Jeannie. John Jr. died in a car accident in September 1994.
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