FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 22, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation announced today its  2009 Davey O’Brien Legends Award recipient, Dan Fouts, in recognition of his life-long contributions to the game of football. Fouts will be presented with the award at the 33^rd Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner on Feb. 15, 2010 at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It is an honor to be recognized among my peers for this award and to be recognized among some of football’s greatest quarterbacks,” said Dan Fouts. 

The Davey O’Brien Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and demonstrated exemplary conduct on and off the football field. The award was established in 2001 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Davey O’Brien Foundation. Previous recipients include Joe Theismann (2008), Steve Spurrier (2007), Paul Hornung (2006), Len Dawson (2005), Archie Manning (2004), Terry Bradshaw (2003), Bart Starr (2002) and Roger Staubach (2001).

“Our tradition of recognizing quarterbacks who exemplify the spirit of Davey O’Brien with this award based on their contributions on and off the field continues,” said Scott Murray, Chair of the Legends Committee for the Davey O’Brien Foundation. “We are pleased to include Mr. Fouts in this elite circle of men.”

Originally from San Francisco, Dan Fouts played college football at the University of Oregon where he was as an All-Pac 8 quarterback and set 19 school records, including passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871), a record that stood for 14 years. Fouts was named Alumni Man of the Year in 1993 by the University of Oregon. 

Fouts entered the NFL Draft in 1973 and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third-round. His Hall of Fame career with the Chargers ended in 1987 with 3,297 of 5,604 completions for 43,040 total passing yards with 254 touchdowns, 476 rushing yards and 13 additional touchdowns. As the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, Fouts set a NFL record during the 1981 season when he threw his career high of 4,802 yards.

Fouts retired from the NFL after 15 seasons and 201 games with the Chargers where he was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and the 1983 Pro Bowl MVP. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and his number 14 jersey is only the second jersey to ever be retired by the Chargers. In addition, Fouts has been named into the California Sports Hall of Fame, San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame, San Diego Hall of Champions Hall of Fame, State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, San Francisco Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. 

Career highlights and accolades include three-time First-team All-Pro selections, two-time All- AFC selections and AFC Most Valuable Player in 1979. In 1982, he was named the league co-MVP, NFL MVP by the Pro Football Writers of America, AFC Player of the Year by United Press International and NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. In 1990, Fouts was honored by Nike, whose campus consists of 17 buildings named after legendary Nike athletes, when they named a building after him at the Nike World Headquarters Walk of Fame in Beaverton, Ore.

After a successful run in the NFL, Fouts began his career in broadcasting in 1988 as a NFL analyst on CBS. He did a three year stint as a sports anchor on KPIX-TV in San Francisco, winning two local Emmy Awards before joining ABC Sports in 1997. There Fouts served as a commentator on ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” a college football analyst alongside Brent Musburger and Keith Jackson and a play-by-play announcer with partner Tim Brant covering Pac-10 college football. Fouts returned to CBS in 2008 and can be seen on The NFL on CBS as an analyst alongside long-time announcer Dick Enberg.

Dan and his wife, Jeri, reside in Sisters, Ore., with their four children.   

About The Davey O’Brien Foundation
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was founded in 1977 to honor and remember the strong character and leadership of football great, Davey O’Brien. Widely known for its Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^®, the Foundation recognizes champions on and off the field through national awards programs encouraging academic and career success. The Foundation has given away more than $770,000 in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field to leadership in life. The Davey O’Brien Legends Award was established in 2001 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Foundation and to pay tribute to Davey O’Brien. The Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and demonstrated exemplary conduct on and off the field. More information about the Foundation can be found at www.DaveyOBrien.org.

# # #