University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Athletics Mourns the Loss of All-Time Football Great Buster O'Brien
10/01/2024 | Football
Richmond Athletics Hall-of-Fame quarterback Buster O'Brien passed away Monday night. One of Spider football's all-time greats, O'Brien was instrumental in leading Richmond to its 1968 Tangerine Bowl victory, the only bowl win in school history. He was 78 years old.Â
A star quarterback at Virginia Beach's Princess Anne High School in the 1960s, O'Brien's talent and success earned him a football scholarship from Notre Dame. After transferring to Richmond after his freshman season, O'Brien went on to achieve legendary status and cement his legacy as one of the best to ever play for the Spiders.Â
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"This is a sad day for Spiders everywhere," said Richmond Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt. "Buster O'Brien represented the best of Richmond Athletics: a tremendous man, a gifted athlete, and a steady captain who led his team to titles on the field and then led his community as a judge and state delegate. He will be deeply missed."
An All-Southern Conference and All-State selection while at Richmond, O'Brien left the Spiders as the program's all-time leader in all passing categories and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1968. His 349 career completions still rank ninth all-time for the Spiders, and his four touchdown passes thrown on two separate occasions during the 1968 campaign are tied for the seventh-most in a single game by a Richmond quarterback. His 21 touchdowns thrown in 1968 are tied for sixth on the all-time list, and his 34 career touchdown passes are tied for ninth, despite having only played three seasons for UR.Â
His 83-yard connection to Walker Gillette — his primary target during his time at Richmond — from the Virginia Tech game on Oct. 28, 1967 is the fourth-longest in program history. His 4,424 career passing yards are still the ninth-most by any UR quarterback and his 688 passing attempts rank eighth all-time. The 4,302 yards of total offense he accumulated in his three seasons from 1966-1968 are tenth in the program record book.
"I first met Buster as a freshman at UR and he was a transfer from Notre Dame," said Gillette. "He had to sit out a year and freshmen back then couldn't play on varsity, so we ran plays against varsity in practice. After a year of practicing together against varsity, we were ready for our opponents the next year. Our big day in the sun was Dec. 27, 1968 in the Tangerine Bowl.Â
The 1968 Tangerine Bowl Championship — one of Richmond football's proudest moments — could not have been accomplished without O'Brien, who served as the team's captain. He threw for a then-school-record 447 yards on 38-of-58 passing and four touchdowns to earn Tangerine Bowl MVP honors alongside Gillette, who reeled in 20 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown.
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The Southern Conference champions' 49-42 win against 17th-ranked Ohio University in the Tangerine Bowl came after dropping arch-rival William & Mary, 31-6, in the regular-season finale. Ohio entered the game as one of the nation's three unbeaten and untied programs. The 8-3 Spiders finished the remarkable season ranked #20 in the AP poll and #18 in the UPI poll.
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O'Brien is a 1979 Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, a member of the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame and the Citrus Bowl Hall of Fame. His 1968 Tangerine Bowl team was Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame's first-ever Team of Distinction, inducted in 2005. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1969.
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From 1980-1985, O'Brien served the Commonwealth as a delegate in the General Assembly and was the chief judge in the city of Virginia Beach up until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 73.
A star quarterback at Virginia Beach's Princess Anne High School in the 1960s, O'Brien's talent and success earned him a football scholarship from Notre Dame. After transferring to Richmond after his freshman season, O'Brien went on to achieve legendary status and cement his legacy as one of the best to ever play for the Spiders.Â
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"This is a sad day for Spiders everywhere," said Richmond Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt. "Buster O'Brien represented the best of Richmond Athletics: a tremendous man, a gifted athlete, and a steady captain who led his team to titles on the field and then led his community as a judge and state delegate. He will be deeply missed."
An All-Southern Conference and All-State selection while at Richmond, O'Brien left the Spiders as the program's all-time leader in all passing categories and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1968. His 349 career completions still rank ninth all-time for the Spiders, and his four touchdown passes thrown on two separate occasions during the 1968 campaign are tied for the seventh-most in a single game by a Richmond quarterback. His 21 touchdowns thrown in 1968 are tied for sixth on the all-time list, and his 34 career touchdown passes are tied for ninth, despite having only played three seasons for UR.Â
His 83-yard connection to Walker Gillette — his primary target during his time at Richmond — from the Virginia Tech game on Oct. 28, 1967 is the fourth-longest in program history. His 4,424 career passing yards are still the ninth-most by any UR quarterback and his 688 passing attempts rank eighth all-time. The 4,302 yards of total offense he accumulated in his three seasons from 1966-1968 are tenth in the program record book.
"I first met Buster as a freshman at UR and he was a transfer from Notre Dame," said Gillette. "He had to sit out a year and freshmen back then couldn't play on varsity, so we ran plays against varsity in practice. After a year of practicing together against varsity, we were ready for our opponents the next year. Our big day in the sun was Dec. 27, 1968 in the Tangerine Bowl.Â
The 1968 Tangerine Bowl Championship — one of Richmond football's proudest moments — could not have been accomplished without O'Brien, who served as the team's captain. He threw for a then-school-record 447 yards on 38-of-58 passing and four touchdowns to earn Tangerine Bowl MVP honors alongside Gillette, who reeled in 20 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown.
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The Southern Conference champions' 49-42 win against 17th-ranked Ohio University in the Tangerine Bowl came after dropping arch-rival William & Mary, 31-6, in the regular-season finale. Ohio entered the game as one of the nation's three unbeaten and untied programs. The 8-3 Spiders finished the remarkable season ranked #20 in the AP poll and #18 in the UPI poll.
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O'Brien is a 1979 Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, a member of the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame and the Citrus Bowl Hall of Fame. His 1968 Tangerine Bowl team was Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame's first-ever Team of Distinction, inducted in 2005. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1969.
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From 1980-1985, O'Brien served the Commonwealth as a delegate in the General Assembly and was the chief judge in the city of Virginia Beach up until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 73.
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