John David Crow, Sr. (July 8, 1935 – June 17, 2015)….was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He won the Heisman Trophy as a halfback for the Texas A&M Aggies football team while playing for Coach Bear Bryant in 1957. After college, he played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco 49’ers between 1958 and 1968. Crow received the annual Len Eshmont Award twice….in 1966 and 1967….for the award voted by the 49’er players and given to the teammate who best exemplifies the “inspirational and courageous play” of Len Eshmont.
After his playing career, Crow became an assistant football coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama….serving under his former college coach Bear Bryant from 1969 to 1971. He moved to the NFL as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns in 1972….then the San Diego Chargers in 1974. In December 1975, Crow was hired as head football coach and athletic director at Northeast Louisiana University—now the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He coached the football team for five seasons, from 1976 to 1980….and remained as athletic director until 1981….returning to his alma mater, Texas A&M, in 1983 as an assistant athletic director. He was promoted to athletic director in 1988 and served in that capacity until 1993.
Crow was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1976. A street on the campus of Texas A&M University adjacent to KyleField is named after him.
