The Lone Star State lost a sports icon last Friday with the passing of Dave Campbell, founder of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine. He was 96 years of age. Published biannually, the magazine is considered the bible of Texas football–not just for pro and college teams, but also for roughly 1,400 high school programs across the state.
Born in Waco, Dave Campbell loved sports for as long as he can remember. Three days after graduating high school, he took a job as a copy boy at Waco’s Tribune-Herald, and then he stayed home to matriculate at Baylor University.
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But sports weren’t the only thing that grabbed his attention. War intervened, and Campbell fought in the European Theatre with the 14th Armored Division of the U.S. earned the Bronze Star for heroic/meritorious service.
After returning from the war and graduating from Baylor, Campbell took over as the Tribune-Herald’s sports editor and then (in 1959) hatched the idea of launching a magazine devoted to Texas football. With colleague Hollis Biddle, that idea became a reality in 1960. After a rocky start (the publication lost money its first year), the idea caught on, and readership expanded rapidly. And even though Campbell sold the magazine rights in 1985, his name remained on the cover to signify the brand people had come to know and respect.
Along the way, Campbell served as president of the Football Writers Association of America and was a Heisman Trophy voter, among many other roles.
Dave Campbell will be missed.
