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WACO (AP) – Dave Campbell, founder of the Texas Football preview magazine that has become a staple in this football-mad state, has passed away. He was 96 years old.
Campbell died Friday night at his home in Waco, said Greg Tepper, editor of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Known as “the bible of Texan football,” the magazine was started by Campbell in 1960, seven years after he became sports editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Campbell held both roles for 25 years before selling the magazine and became synonymous with Baylor coverage in her role with the Waco newspaper. Baylor’s McLane Stadium press box bears his name and he maintained a presence at sporting events until his death. Campbell retired from the newspaper in 1993.
While the magazine began as a comprehensive guide to former Southwestern Conference and high school teams, it has grown to become the primary source for coverage of preparations in the state.
Texas Football hosts the weekly high school football rankings that are distributed by The Associated Press, and Tepper has a strong presence in television coverage during the regular season and playoffs. He is one of the studio hosts during Championship Week for all six state classifications.
After selling the magazine in 1985, Campbell retained the title of Editor-in-Chief until the 2021 preview edition. The magazine’s release became a summer rite for high school football fans in Canada. Texas.
“I grew up with the magazine and it’s the law when it comes to Texas high school football,” said Austin Westlake coach Todd Dodge, who was a Texas starting quarterback after a brilliant career in high school in Port Arthur and won six state championships. as a coach. “I was in the magazine in the summer of 1980, and we were looking forward to receiving this magazine and even today it is still a big deal for the kids.”
Campbell is part of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, which he helped save after the original location in the Dallas area closed in 1986. The facility moved to Waco and reopened in 1993. Campbell was also a former president of the Football Writers Association of America.
Born in Waco in 1925, Campbell has never lived elsewhere except for the three years he served in the military during World War II when he was awarded a Bronze Star.
After the war Campbell graduated from Baylor and returned to work at the Tribune-Herald, where he had started as a copier three days after graduating from high school.
Campbell’s wife of 70 years, Reba Campbell, passed away in January 2020.
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