Jerry Lindquist: Remembering Spider football great Buster O'Brien
Other than a brief, stop-and-go conversation at a hockey game in Norfolk, we hadn’t talked to Buster O'Brien in more than 50 years - when he was throwing footballs with uncommon accuracy and leading the University of Richmond to heights not seen before or since.
Four years ago, we connected. So, howyadoing, old-timer? It’s been a while, and you’ve done quite well for yourself as a trial lawyer, then a circuit judge, this even-older old-timer said.
If you are lucky, you will know a few people that, no matter how long it has been, it always seems like you saw them yesterday … friends forever. William R. “Don’t Call Me Bill” O’Brien, for example.
“I’m living on house money,” he said then, so matter-of-factly a punch line surely was to follow. It was typical Buster … upbeat, laughing, never-met-a-stranger, just happy to be here, Buster.
How so? “Well …” and with that he described a litany of health problems that would have reduced most men not named Buster to mush.
He started in 2011 with “I had a valve replaced in my heart. Went to sleep … and they couldn’t wake me up for 11 days. Very scary. Then, two years later, I had a massive brain bleed … fell down and was paralyzed on my left side for two weeks. I had surgery, and they drained my skull. I was back at work in a couple of weeks. [Pause] … You know, I’ve had a very fortunate and blessed life.”
The primary reason for calling him was to reminisce about the greatest game in 143 years of UR football history … the 1968 Tangerine Bowl upset of 15th-ranked Ohio University in which O’Brien played the game of his life.
“I never thought I’d live this long,” he said.
Monday, O’Brien ran out of house money. He was 78 and – we’re told – had been in bad health for some time … hospitalized for several weeks before the end came – perhaps mercifully so.
“He was such a good guy … who could have had his head way up his butt … but my dealings with him were always good,” said John Averett, UR alumnus, former assistant basketball coach and long-time supporter of Spider athletics.
For all of his success, on and off the field, O’Brien never let it go to his head despite an A-personality that could have betrayed him … starting at Princess Anne High School where he was big man on campus, and later at UR … with a brief stopover at Notre Dame, where he recognized his limitations perhaps for the first time.
Confidence wasn’t a problem growing up, especially at Princess Anne where, as a sophomore, he threw for 21 touchdowns in a wide-open, pass-first offense that was ahead of its time. In his final high school game, O’Brien had 538 yards and seven touchdowns while, believe it or not, calling most – if not all – of his own plays.
Arguably the best quarterback in the state, he was a natural-born leader, with a strong, accurate arm. By O’Brien’s count, he received recruiting letters of interest from “more than 85 schools” and visited as many as 18 including Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State and Auburn. “There were a lot of things you could do then you can’t do now,” he said.
Originally, O’Brien and his high school receiver Charlie Carr planned to attend the same school.
"But he wanted to go to North Carolina where they already had Danny Talbott and Jeff Beaver [at quarterback]," O'Brien said. "I would have been No. 3 … so I went to Notre Dame, where I was no better than No. 9. I didn’t have a chance.”
Actually, O’Brien recalled, “I had planned to go to Vanderbilt … but that was before I had visited Notre Dame … I told the [Vanderbilt] coach I had promised two other visits … then I would come back and sign with them.
"I didn’t do it … and I could have played at Vanderbilt.”
Just the facts, ma'am. O’Brien talked like someone who made mistakes (Haven’t we all?) but didn’t wish for any do-overs. Everything has a way of working out, doesn’t it? For Buster O’Brien it did, more often than not anyway.
“I don’t think he had any regrets,” said Walker Gillette, UR’s only unanimous and first-team All-American … who became more than just a teammate and later a good friend.
Instead of being bitter about his brief, albeit eye-opening, time in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus, O’Brien saw it as a learning experience. Accompanied by his parents, he went to South Bend, Ind., for the visit … and was instantly hooked.
“Everybody was crazy about [Notre Dame],” O’Brien said. “The football was second to none. They had great academics. It was everything I was looking for coming out of high school. I came back home, called and told them I wanted to come there.”
Ara Parseghian, the Irish coach, came to Virginia Beach on St. Patrick’s Day, 1964, to sign him. It doesn’t get more fitting than that … and, admittedly, O’Brien’s head was swimming with thoughts of grandeur. He could be the next legendary Notre Dame QB … in the footsteps of such former greats as Johnny Lujack and George Gipp. Look out world, here comes Buster.
“It was much different back then. There was no limit on scholarships. They actually had 12 quarterbacks on the roster when I got there. TWELVE!” O’Brien said. “Of the three who came in with me … one wound up playing linebacker for the Redskins … another a safety for the Browns.”
Back to reality. “They were looking for guys with a lot more speed than I had … that wasn’t my calling card, as you well know … and, I could count,” he said. “I wasn’t going to play.”
It was one season and done at Notre Dame for O’Brien … who decided to transfer closer to home. His ultimate choice, as it turned out, was easy. He would go to the state school that needed a quarterback. It was that simple.
Although William & Mary was the leader in the clubhouse because of cerebral coach Marv Levy, “they already had Dan Darragh and Mike Madden at quarterback. Virginia had Bobby Davis and Gene Arnette … and Virginia Tech didn’t throw the ball at all,” O’Brien told us. “I thought the best chance I had of playing was at Richmond. It was the best decision I ever made.”
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Gillette was a freshman during O’Brien’s transfer season. In those ancient days of long ago, first-year players were not eligible for the varsity. That would change in 1972. Meanwhile, he and O’Brien made the most of the opportunity, Gillette said.
“We practiced together for an entire year before we ever played a [varsity] game … and really got to know each other," he said. "We didn’t win a freshman game … but we always beat up on the varsity. We made the most of it. Had a good time.”
O’Brien-to-Gillette became a staple of coach Frank Jones’ heretofore run-first offense for the next three seasons, culminating Dec. 28, 1968 in Orlando, Fla. (BDW: Before Disney World) … where the 28-point-underdog Spiders shocked unbeaten Ohio 49-42.
O’Brien threw for a school-record 447 yards, completing 39 (of 64) passes —Gillette caught 20 – and four touchdowns. The only reason the Bobcats kept it close was their QB Cleve Bryant, the antithesis of O’Brien … running around, ad libbing and turning busted plays into positive yardage.
Not to be outdone, the 6-4, 200-pounds-plus O’Brien somehow navigated 31 yards for a touchdown all his own on the first play of the second quarter … and you had a feeling the Spiders couldn’t lose after that. In fact, it provided UR with the lead … and they never trailed again.
“Buster was a great team leader. He always kept us focused,” Gillette said earlier this week. “He didn’t have a lot of ability. He was slow … couldn’t run or jump … but, dang if he couldn’t throw that ball … He would set plays up … and he wouldn’t take any crap from anyone in the huddle. You did what he said, or else. Everyone thought a lot of him. He was a great guy.”
While Gillette had a nice NFL career of seven years after being a first-round draft pick of San Diego in 1970, O’Brien’s pro career was a reminder of how difficult it can be, regardless of ability.
“It seemed I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
Taken by Denver in the 17th (last) round of the 1969 draft -- 425th overall and the last of 18 quarterbacks called – O’Brien opted to sign with Ottawa of the Canadian Football League for a $10,000 bonus and was cut before what he described as “a nice contract” could take effect.
He returned home and got a brief tryout with the Redskins, then coached by Vince Lombardi. O’Brien’s brief, inconsequential pro career ended after little more than a year on the 49ers taxi squad. He played one series in one exhibition game and by then the message was loud and clear. Time to move on.
“No regrets,” O’Brien said. “I was more fortunate than most.”
Of course, he remained, as always, upbeat in good times and bad. Among other things he twice was voted into the state’s House of Delegates. He was later defeated by Mary Sue Terry, who also attended UR, in a hotly-contested, at times nasty bid for state attorney general. As a result of some biased reporting, he sued NBC News for defamation and, thanks to local lawyer Richard Cullen, was able to settle for an amount thought to be in the neighborhood of $400,000 but never disclosed publicly.
Buster O'Brien lived a full life, no doubt about it. No regrets indeed.
“Yeah, Buster was a great friend of mine … especially later in life when we’d sit around and talk about how good we were,” Gillette said.
But seriously, folks … “He told me one day his goal in life was to be a great husband, good father and a good person.”
Gillette didn’t have to say more. That said it all.
RIP, Buster. RIP.
