Walter Camp Foundation Legend Bill O’Brien to Receive Champion of Community Honor on July 13
Long-time Walter Camp Foundation member and Past President William (Bill) O’Brien will be honored as the first recipient of the Walter Camp “Champion of Community” award. O’Brien, resident of Branford and member of the Foundation since 1973, will be honored on Sunday, July 13 at 5 p.m. at Race Brook Country Club in Orange as part of festivities with the organization’s annual “Ring of Honor” Golf Classic which is July 14.
Much like Mr. Walter Camp has been labelled as a “Champion of Sport,” the Champion of Community award is presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to an individual that has a history of supporting the Foundation’s activities and has gone onto make significant, unique contribution to their community and the greater community which is served by the Foundation.
Bill O’Brien
“There is no one better than Bill O’Brien to be the inaugural recipient of the Champion of Community Award,” Walter Camp Foundation president John Barbarotta said. “Anything that involves Walter Camp Foundation, the New Haven and Shoreline communities, or the game of football, has been influenced by Bill, and probably also effectively promoted all of them through his trusty camera. We are indebted to Bill for his passion and efforts to make things better around him.”
Individual tickets to the July 13 event are $200 and a table of nine is $1700. Please contact Ernie Williams at (203) 530-8379 or ErnieW20@comcast.net or Greg Rocchio at (203) 506-4771 (gwrchiro@aol.com).
A native of New Haven, O’Brien attended Notre Dame High School and Quinnipiac College. He then worked in commercial banking for 40-plus years, before retiring in 2005.
However, it has been his passion for helping others, and assisting organizations, like the Walter Camp Foundation, to tell their stories and help make things better. His photography talents have captured many thousands of events on the Shoreline and throughout greater New Haven, and graciously donated to area media outlets that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
O’Brien first became involved with the Foundation in 1973, attending the national awards dinner with a friend and then volunteered as treasurer. He served as President of the organization from 1979 to 1981 and has been involved and at the forefront in key Foundation activities since.
For example, in 1988, Bill wrote to then U.S, Congressman Bruce Morrison requesting his assistance to get an official Walter Camp stamp issued. Fifteen years later August 8, 2003, Mr. Camp, Father of American football, was part of the “Early Football Heroes” stamp issuance.
And it was Bill stumbling upon Mr. Camp’s grave in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven in early 1992, and then quickly raising funds to buy a beautifully etched stone that included a short profile of Camp.
His efforts in promoting football led to involvement with the National Football Foundation New Haven County Chapter (which is now named for Bill), and he was among the distinguished officials presiding over the grand opening of the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta in 2017, some five years after serving on the national chapter’s board of directors.
His community involvements run even more extensively with leadership positions for the Town of Branford Festival, New Haven’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, New Haven Road Race, Branford Sports Hall of Fame, Connecticut Special Olympics, or his efforts to build the Daniel Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford for his “love of animals.”
His impact on local sports is also legendary. He was the first Commissioner of the Southern Connecticut Conference from 1994 to 2005, and made it possible for public and parochial schools, both urban and suburban, to compete. The Conference continues to honor him each year with a scholarship in his name awarded to two deserving students who embody the “passion of Bill in their school and surrounding communities.”
His numerous awards include an NFF Chapter Leadership Award, Yale University Elm Ivy Award, Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance Gold Key, Connecticut Association of Athletics Directors Distinguished Service Award, and he was the first recipient of the New Haven Register Sportsperson of the Year.
Bill resides in Branford with his wife Maureen and has two sons and three grandchildren.
In addition to honoring Bill, the Foundation will also be recognizing several other individuals, including former Walter Camp All-America running back and NFL standout George Rogers with the Ring of Honor award. Former Notre Dame defensive back Jeff Burris, a 1993 Walter Camp All-American and current New York Giants coach, will also be recognized with the Ring of Honor.
Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle will receive the Man of the Year award. Randle, who played collegiately at Texas A&I, went undrafted and then played eleven seasons in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. A six-time First Team All-Pro selection, Randle was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Robin Roberts, accomplished former student-athlete at Southeastern Louisiana, ABC and ESPN media personality, author, and breast-cancer survivor, was the recipient of the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s “Distinguished American” Award in 2009. However, Ms. Roberts could not attend the 2010 National Awards weekend due to work obligations out of the country.
Ms. Roberts will be attending the Ring of Honor event on July 13 to receive her award.
About the Walter Camp Foundation
Considered the “Father of American Football,” Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp, then the Yale University head coach, selected the first-ever college football All-America team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.
