Theodore William Connolly (December 5, 1931 February 24, 2014) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

from 1954 to 1962 and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in 1963. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Santa Clara Broncos The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the ...

and

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...

. He earned

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors and was a member of the 1962 NFL All-Star team as named by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''. He originally played in college at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

and was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

until the Broncos dropped football in 1951. Connolly moved on to the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

where he graduated in 1953. While at Tulsa he was named a member of the All- Missouri Valley team as a tackle.Dan McGuire (ed.), ''The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League Present the Shotgun Offense: Press, Radio, Television Information for 1961.'' San Francisco, CA: San Francisco 49ers Football Club, 1961; p. 21. Connolly was selected in the 9th round of the

1954 NFL draft The 1954 NFL draft was held on January 28, 1954, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the eighth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous seven winners ineligible from the ...

by the

, who made him the 107th selection of the year. While a player, he worked in the off-season as a real estate salesman for the Grubb Real Estate Company of

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Conner died at his home in

Gardnerville, Nevada Gardnerville is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the county seat of Minden. The population was 6,211 at the 2020 census. U.S. Route 395 runs through the center of Gardnerville. State Route 207, kn ...

on February 24, 2014, from acute

myelocytic leukemia Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue. Types include: * Acute myeloid leukemia: A cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of myeloblasts that build up in the bone marrow and blood and ...

.James Marty
"Ted Connolly, Former 49er and Napa Resident, Dies at 82,"
''Napa Valley Register,'' March 11, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Ted 1931 births 2014 deaths Players of American football from Oakland, California American football offensive guards Piedmont High School (California) alumni Santa Clara Broncos football players Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players San Francisco 49ers players Cleveland Browns players Western Conference Pro Bowl players People from Gardnerville, Nevada