John David Crow

A native of Marion in Union Parish in North Louisiana, Crow was reared to the west in Springhill in northern Webster Parish near the Arkansas state line. He graduated in 1954 from Springhill High School.

Under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at Texas A&M, Crow was not one of the "Junction Boys," since he was a freshman in 1954, Bryant's first season, and was thus ineligible to play on the varsity under NCAA rules at the time. In 1956, Crow was part of the first Aggie football team to beat the University of Texas at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.[1]

In Crow's senior season in 1957, the Aggies opened with eight wins and were ranked first in the AP Poll.[2] The Aggies lost their last three games after uncertainty over whether head coach Bear Bryant would be leaving.[3] Although injured early in the season, Crow was able to play in seven games in his senior season. He rushed for 562 yards on 129 carries, with six touchdowns. Crow also caught two passes and passed for five touchdowns. While playing on defense, he intercepted the ball five times.[4] During the 1957 season, Bryant famously quipped, "If John David Crow doesn’t win the Heisman Trophy, they ought to stop giving it."[5]

Crow was named a scholastic All-American,[4] and won the balloting for the Heisman Trophy on December 3 over runner-up Iowa tackle Alex Karras, followed by Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk.[3][6][7] Crow claims not to have understood the importance of the award until sponsors flew his family and him to New York City for the presentation.[8] He was the first Aggie to win the Heisman, and he was the only one of Bryant's players to win.[3][9] Bryant then left for Alabama shortly after Crow received the Heisman.[10]

In the 1958 NFL Draft, Crow was the second overall pick, selected by the Chicago Cardinals. He played eleven seasons in the NFL and appeared in four Pro Bowls.[8][10] Crow followed the team to St. Louis in 1960, and later finished his career with the San Francisco 49ers.[8][11] Crow received the annual Len Eshmont Award twice, in 1966 and 1967, voted by the players and given to the 49er who best exemplifies the "inspirational and courageous play" of Len Eshmont. In his final season in 1968, he primarily played tight end.[12]

When his playing career ended, Crow became a coach. In 1969, he was named the offensive backfield coach under Bryant at Alabama, a position he retained until 1971.[4] He was personally close to Bryant, under whom Crow's late son, John David "Johnny" Crow, Jr., played at Alabama.[13]

He later worked as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers.[11]

Crow became the athletic director and head football coach at Northeast Louisiana University in 1975.[4] He remained there until 1981, when he left to pursue private business opportunities.[15]

In 1983, he became assistant athletic director at Texas A&M under Jackie Sherrill, who served as both athletic director and head coach of the football team. Crow handled most duties for all sports except football, which Sherrill oversaw.[15] He was promoted to athletic director at the end of the 1988 football season when Sherrill resigned in the midst of a scandal. Texas A&M President William Mobley hired R. C. Slocum, Sherrill's defensive coordinator, as the new head football coach.[16] In a press conference the day after his appointment, Crow announced, "I want to reaffirm my commitment to full compliance with the NCAA, Southwest Conference, and Texas A&M University regulations in our athletic department."[17]

After a public row in January 1990, Crow fired long-time Aggies basketball coach Shelby Metcalf, who had coached at Texas A&M for 32 years, with five Southwest Conference championships. The relationship between the men had often been described as bitter, and Crow cited "uncalled-for criticism" in his firing of Metcalf, who was not given the opportunity to say goodbye to his players. When asked by the media what happened between the two, Metcalf remarked, "I made a comment that I didn't think John David was all that bright. And I thought I was being generous." Crow appointed Kermit Davis to replace Metcalf.[18]

Later that year, after Arkansas left the Southwest Conference, Crow and DeLoss Dodds, the athletic director at the University of Texas, met with officials from the Pac-10 Conference about aligning with that conference. The two later cancelled a similar meeting with officials from the Southeastern Conference.[19]

Crow resigned from his position as athletic director in April 1993 to invest as a limited partner in a greyhound racetrack. At the time of his resignation, the Texas A&M football program was embroiled in a scandal over students accepting money from boosters for jobs they had not performed. He was succeeded as athletic director by Wally Groff. As a result of the scandal, the Texas A&M football program was placed on five years probation and was banned from television or postseason appearances for one year.[20] He then took a job as the fundraiser for the university until 2001, when he retired.[3]

Crow was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1976.[4] In 2004, Crow was awarded the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Doak Walker Legends Award, presented annually by the SMU Athletic Forum. The award is given to former college football running backs who had excellent college careers and later became leaders in their community.[11] In 1976, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches.

Crow retired in College Station, Texas.[3] In an interview with the Bryan-College Station Eagle, Crow said, "I tell everybody that A&M is my true love and that I want us to win everything that we do, but Alabama is a close second because of the ties I had with Coach Bryant, and with my son playing over there.[13]

He died at a hospice in Bryan, Texas, on June 17, 2015; he was 79 years old, three weeks shy of his 80th birthday.[21] In addition to their son, Crow and his high school sweetheart and wife of more than 60 years, the former Carolyn Gilliam, have two surviving daughters, Annalisa Stenklyft and husband, Jay, and Jeannie Pietrowiak and husband, Ken; daughter-in-law, Janice Crow, and seven grandchildren.[22] He was cremated. A public reception was held in his memory on June 23 at Reed Arena in College Station.[23]

• John David Crow at the College Football Hall of Fame
• John David Crow at the Heisman Trophy official website
• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
• John David Crow at Find a Grave