Courtesy of Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Some TCU fans might say the current 2022–23 Horned Frogs are making history. And for the most part, they would be right. With the exception of an Associated Press Trophy 84 years ago (technically before the AP even awarded a physical trophy), the current team under head coach Sonny Dykes is blazing new territory. But to say the game has changed since the school’s first claimed national championship is an undeniable understatement. And to those of us either new to North Texas (hello transplants) or born post-Great Depression, we may not understand or appreciate the significance of such a victory. So, for edification purposes, and as a nod to the current football team, we have decided to go back and highlight what made the historic 1938 TCU football team so great.
Let’s start with head coach Dutch Meyer. One could easily define Meyer as a sports jack-of-all-trades, who coached both baseball and basketball. But he’s best known for his role as TCU’s head football coach from 1934 – 1952, and his 109 wins were the most in school history until former TCU football coach Gary Patterson surpassed him in 2012.
During this span, Meyer had the Horned Frogs competing for two national titles. The first of which occurred in 1935, a year before the Associated Press conducted weekly polls and entered the realm of awarding an end-of-season champion. That year, TCU would lose a bitter contest at home to undefeated SMU, a team that would subsequently get shutout in the Rose Bowl by No.5-ranked Stanford. Meanwhile TCU would go on to defeat No. 4-ranked LSU in the Sugar Bowl with an uncommon 3-2 final score. Ultimately, despite an end-of-year ranking method called the Williamson System giving the title to TCU, the Horned Frogs fell short in the more prestigious United Press Sports Writers’ Poll and the Dickinson System (which named Minnesota and SMU national champions, respectively).
Courtesy Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Throughout this campaign, future star quarterback Davey O’Brien served as backup to stand-out Sammy Baugh, who the very next year would lead TCU to a victory over Marquette in the inaugural Cotton Bowl Classic. With seemingly impossibly large shoes to fill, O’Brien would be named to the first-team All-Southwest Conference in his first season taking snaps behind center. Then, a year later, in 1938, O’Brien threw for 1,457 yards — a Southwest Conference passing record that stood for ten long years. And to add to the already-jaw-dropping stat line, O’Brien threw a mere four interceptions in 194 attempts. Oh, and his NCAA record for most rushing and passing plays in a single season still stands today.
It was this kind of prowess that pushed the ’38 Horned Frogs to outscore their opponents by a 269-60 margin. On top of that, TCU held nine of their 10 regular season opponents to seven points or less, including three shutouts. These impressive stats led TCU to a stunning 11 – 0 record, with only one game decided by single digits.
Since Baugh’s departure two years earlier, most thought TCU’s chances of repeating its success were slim. But Meyer made some tweaks that played into O’Brien’s skill set. And, when combined with what could arguably be the best offensive line in the country at that time, the adjustments paid off.
Center Ki Aldrich and his fellow offensive linemen opened holes in the run game, and O’Brien slung the ball around almost as good, if not better, than Baugh.
That Meyer offense, by the way, has been credited as the basis for the modern passing game. Legend has it that Meyer created what is now known as the “Meyer Spread” for Baugh. Today, we call it the Double Wing formation. This was a formation where the ends and wingback spread wider than was common for the time.
Carnegie Mellon, meanwhile, came out of nowhere. The Tartans had gone just 6-16-2 from 1935-37 and hadn't finished more than a game above .500 since going 5-3-1 under Walter Steffen in 1929. But halfback Merl Condit led a surprising charge. Mellon had only one loss — to No. 5 Notre Dame, 7-0 — and set the stage for a Sugar Bowl matchup with TCU following a thumping of then-No. 1 Pitt followed by shutout wins over Duquesne and NC State.
This legendary matchup occurred on Jan. 2, 1939 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. While the final score reads 15-7, a look at the day’s box score paints a very different picture. The Horned Frogs would outgain the Tartans 367-188 in total yards, including then-unthinkable 225 yards through the air (Carnegie Tech would throw for a mere 59 yards). And TCU would punt only once. Yes, through four quarters, TCU had one 40-yard punt and no turnovers.
Despite TCU amassing 55 of the Associated Press’ 77 votes and being crowned champions before they ever took the field against Carnegie Tech, this victory cemented the Horned Frogs’ status as the undisputed best team in the nation. The win was for more than just bragging rights.
Following this hallowed season, and after producing arguably two of the best quarterbacks in college football history (Sammy Baugh and David O’Brien), Meyer’s recruiting luck ran out of steam, never reaching the gridiron heights of 1938. He did, however, continue to innovate his offense, eventually getting TCU back to the 1942 Orange Bowl. But the Frogs would only make it to three more bowl games and finish ranked just once before Meyer's retirement in 1952.
So, what does this all mean? Needless to say, it just goes to show, when you have the right ingredients in the mix, as we do this year, the sky is the limit. If history is an indicator of our future, then we should watch the Jan. 9 National Championship knowing full well that we have always had what it takes to win — naysayers be damned.
