ALUMNI NEWS

Celebrating Tiger Football History

On Oct. 13, 1973, Todd Donoho and Dan O’Brien, two freshmen journalism majors, each a stranger to the other, attended the much-anticipated Missouri vs. Nebraska football game in Memorial Stadium with their friends. Mizzou hadn’t beaten the Huskers since a 17-7 win in 1969 under head coach Dan Devine in Columbia. The Tigers, led by head coach Al Onofrio, were looking to upset Nebraska, the defending national champion and the No. 2 team in the nation.

To the joy of Donoho, O’Brien and the thousands of MU fans, Mizzou pulled off the upset, 13-12.

“I ran out onto the field and was so excited that I literally jumped on fullback Ray Bybee,” Donoho said. “I was hooked on Mizzou football from that moment.”

Mizzou would go on to beat Nebraska two more times during Donoho, BJ ’77, and O’Brien’s, BJ ’77, tenure at the University, a time that also saw the two young men establish a friendship based on their passion for sports trivia and broadcast journalism.

Neither one knew, however, that he had lived what would eventually be a sports trivia fact. That 1973 victory began a decades-long drought of home-game wins against Nebraska, and a win in 1978 in Lincoln, Neb., was the last victory the Tigers claimed over the Huskers.

Until 2003, that is. Some may call it sports poetic justice, but on Oct. 11 in Columbia, almost 30 years to the day after the last home win against Nebraska, Donoho and O’Brien were in attendance as the Tigers beat the Huskers, 41-24.

“We came back to meet some fellow journalism alums looking for a good game,” O’Brien said. “It was a tremendous win, but we’re just sorry it took that long.”
Knowing that they had witnessed two of the most memorable moments in Missouri football history sparked something in Donoho. On Feb. 1, he called O’Brien and suggested co-writing a book about just such moments, to which O’Brien immediately said “yes.” Now eight months later, their book, MizzouRah! Memorable Moments in Missouri Tiger Football History is available online and in bookstores throughout Missouri.

“We have gathered the greatest collage of Mizzou football pictures ever assembled, depicting 30 of the most memorable moments through the use of game film, photos, video highlights and commentary,” Donoho said. “You can literally relive the moment in hundreds of sequenced photos.”

The importance of “seeing” the historical moments stems from the extensive professional broadcast experience both men gained after leaving Mizzou.

Donoho worked in television and radio sportscasting in Michigan and Ohio before a successful 20-year stint in Los Angeles. There he hosted Time Out for Trivia, a nationally televised sports program that ran on the SCORE service of the Financial News Network, in addition to hosting other sports talk shows and appearing in the 1994 movie Blue Chips. By the time he decided to leave Los Angeles in May and return to Columbia with his wife, Paula, BS ’77, he had garnered five Emmys, three Associated Press Awards and several Golden Mike Awards for sportscasting.

O’Brien followed a similar career path, working at the ABC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Donoho worked for the NBC affiliate. O’Brien eventually worked in sports broadcasting in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh before finally settling down in the Indianapolis area.

Their extensive sports knowledge was a valuable asset while researching the key Mizzou football moments since 1939, a date they picked because few people have memories before that time. MizzouRah! traces back to “Pitchin” Paul Christman’s days of leading Mizzou to national prominence with an upset victory at Yankee Stadium, Don Faurot’s creation of the Split-T formation option offense, the Tigers’ first undefeated season and No. 1 ranking in 1960 and the fateful 2003 win against Nebraska at Faurot Field.

“It’s a payback to the University that gave us so much,” O’Brien said. “We look at this book as a tribute to a program that is proud of its tradition.”

The book hit the market in mid-September, and already sales look promising. Both men say they have considered writing another book after seeing this one to the finish. In the meantime, Donoho will re-enter the world of broadcasting as host of the Tiger Network basketball post-game shows. O’Brien will continue his freelance work in Indiana, where he just finished a screenplay about Rube Waddell, an eccentric Baseball Hall-of-Famer who played from 1897 to 1910.

Of course, they will also make time to meet up in Columbia for the next Missouri vs. Nebraska game at Faurot Field. Donoho’s son Jeff, now a sophomore journalism major at Mizzou, was a freshman when he attended last year’s win - just like his dad 30 years before. O’Brien said that while he hopes Mizzou won’t take another three decades to beat the Huskers at home, he does know one thing for sure.

“If Todd has a grandson at Mizzou in 2033 when MU plays Nebraska, you can bet the ranch on a Tiger victory,” O’Brien said.

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Last Update: November 15, 2007