Texas A&M Heisman Legend John David Crow Passes Away
Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus, Aggie legend and 1957 Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow passed away late Wednesday night at the age of 79 surrounded by his wife, Carolyn, their two daughters, Annalisa Stenklyft and Jeannie Pietrowiak, and several grandchildren.
Services are pending and the family requests privacy at this time.
Their only son, John David Jr., was born while his father was a player at Texas A&M and John David Jr. played football at the University of Alabama. He preceded his father in death due to a car accident.
One of the most decorated student-athletes at Texas A&M, Crow was born July 8, 1935 and grew up in Springhill, Louisiana where he earned All-America honors in football and also lettered in basketball and track. He was recruited to Texas A&M by Head Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and assistant coach Elmer Smith and came to campus as a true freshman in 1954.
Crow remarked how he was glad he did not have to attend the football camp in Junction since freshmen were ineligible at that time.
In addition to playing running back he played defensively and was known for his tough, physical playing style. Crow earned three letters under Coach Bryant from 1955-57. In 1957, he and his teammates helped the Aggies reach No. 1 in the polls. He was the first Heisman Trophy winner in Texas A&M history and the only Heisman Trophy winner in Coach Bryant’s illustrious career. (A partial list of his awards will follow at the end of this release.)
When Coach Bryant retired from coaching football, he was quoted as saying, “John David Crow was the finest player I ever coached. Watching film on him was like watching a grown man play with boys.”
In addition to his exploits on the field, Crow, Texas A&M Class of ’58, earned his degree in business administration and was named to the 1957 Scholastic All-America team presented by the America Peoples Encyclopedia and was named to the Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
The second player selected overall in the 1958 NFL draft by the Chicago Cardinals, Crow played 11 seasons in the NFL serving as a team captain of the Cardinals and finishing his career playing and serving as a team captain for the San Francisco 49ers. He was a four-time selection to the Pro Bowl and was named to the All-Pro team of the 1960’s as a halfback.
After his playing career, Crow went into coaching. He began with Coach Bryant on the Alabama coaching staff and also coached on the NFL level with the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers.
He was named the head coach and athletics director at Northeast Louisiana University, now known as the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Texas A&M athletics director and head football coach Jackie Sherrill brought Aggieland’s favorite son back home in 1983 to serve as associate athletics director and remained in that role until he was promoted to Athletics Director in December of 1988. Crow served in that capacity until 1993.
During his time as the associate and athletics director, Crow was at the forefront of gender equity at Texas A&M. Something he always felt strongly about was instilled by his parents and Coach Bryant—“if you do anything, do it to the best of your abilities.”
Crow would continue to serve Texas A&M as the Director of Athletic Development from 1993 until he officially retired from Texas A&M University in June of 2001. In his role, Crow was responsible for the endowment of several scholarships as well as overall fundraising for the athletics department.
Crow was inducted into the Texas A&M Hall of Fame in 1968, the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 1976 and was named to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2004, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Texas A&M and was recently honored during the Aggies’ first year in the Southeastern Conference as an SEC Legend at the 2012 SEC Championship Game.
Crow attended the Heisman Trophy ceremonies whenever possible and took great pride in Johnny Manziel winning the trophy in 2012.
The core values of Texas A&M University—respect, integrity, leadership, excellence, loyalty and selfless service truly describe this Aggie legend, John David Crow.
