O’Brien, Gillette reunited on All-UR Stadium team

They got together 20 times during the 1968 Tangerine Bowl. Quarterback Buster O'Brien and receiver Walker Gillette are reunited on the All-UR Stadium team.

The University of Richmond as part of homecoming week today announced the "team" of former players who starred at City Stadium, which became UR Stadium in 1983. Spiders games were first held at City Stadium in 1929.

Voting via the university's athletic Web site took place during the past two months. Approximately 57,000 votes were cast. After evaluating voters' input, a committee selected the members of the All-UR Stadium team. Current players were not considered because of their incomplete résumés.

O'Brien surely impressed voters with 39 completions (58 attempts) for 447 yards and four touchdowns in Richmond's 49-42 Tangerine Bowl victory over Ohio University in December of 1968. Gillette caught 20 of those passes for 242 yards, the highlight of their on-field collaboration.

"We used to stay after practice a lot because Buster was adamant about timing," Gillette, who played eight seasons in the NFL, recalled yesterday. "I would turn around sometimes, and the ball was already halfway there."

The "team" will be recognized at halftime of the Nov. 21 game against William and Mary at UR Stadium.

The Spiders will move following this season to Robins Stadium, the 8,700-seat facility being built adjacent to the Robins Center. There has been no determination of what will happen to 21,319-seat UR Stadium, which is city-owned. District Councilman E. Martin Jewell, whose district includes the stadium, has said he hopes the site continues as a football and soccer venue. Jewell said that is also the desire of UR Stadium's neighbors.

In 2002, an outside appraiser was hired by the city to recommend whether there was better use for the property, a move that intensified UR's exploration of an on-campus option. UR announced in May of 2003 that it would build an on-campus stadium.

Construction on the 8,700-seat venue is expected to finish next summer. The stadium cost is estimated at $25 million.

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233