Arthur Andrew "Bunny" Corcoran (November 23, 1894 – July 27, 1958) 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 ...

and

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He was a tailback with the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...

and the

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars fr ...

of 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) and the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets wo ...

and the Canton Bulldogs of the

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct p ...

. In

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

, he appeared in one

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

game for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

Early life

Corcoran was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and played baseball and football at Princeton Preparatory School and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. He received the nickname Bunny in high school due to his speed.

Playing career

Baseball

In 1915, Corcoran had a solid year for the Queen Quality team in Massachusetts. On September 9, 1915, Philadelphia Athletics manager

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

gave Corcoran a tryout. He put him in the lineup for that day's game at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

and Corcoran went 0–4 with two strikeouts. Corcoran played for Fordham in 1917 and 1919 and received a tryout with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

after a strong year with the Portland Blue Sox of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. Corcoran never again appeared in a major league game, but continued to play minor league baseball until 1921.

Football

Corcoran played kicker for the 1914 Georgetown Blue and Gray football team and tried out for end the following season. He took over as starter for the team's October 2, 1915 game against

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

. He scored a touchdown in Georgetown's 28–0 victory over the North Carolina A&M Aggies and another in the Hoyas' 61–0 win against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Corcoran transferred to

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

and played end for the 1916 Fordham Maroon football team. He enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

the following year and was a member of the 1917 Newport Naval Reserves football team. In 1919, Corcoran played for the Canton Bulldogs, an Ohio League football team managed by

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

. In 1920, the Bulldogs moved to the new American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League). In 1921 he followed Thorpe to the

, where he scored his only NFL touchdown. He played for the

in 1921 and 1922, the

in 1922, and the

in 1923. In 1924, he was a member of the

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2025, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

, then an independent club.

Coaching

Corcoran began his coaching career when he assisted his former Fordham coach

Frank Gargan John Francis Gargan (July 1, 1888 – August 18, 1960) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Georgetown University (1912–1913), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1914), Fordham University (19 ...

for the first few weeks of the NYU Violets' 1920 football season. In 1923, he and Gargan both returned to Fordham. In 1926, Corcoran became the ends coach at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

. During the Crusaders' November 5, 1932 loss to

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, head coach

John McEwan John James "Cap" McEwan (February 18, 1893 – August 9, 1970) was an American football player and coach. He played and coached at the United States Military Academy and was the head coach at the University of Oregon and College of the Holy Cros ...

got into an argument with trainer Bart Sullivan which led to McEwan's indefinite suspension. Corcoran finished the season as interim head coach. He was not retained by McEwan's successor, Eddie Anderson. In 1939, Corcoran became the ends coach at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. In 1943, he coached the

Virginia Cavaliers baseball The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Da ...

team while

Gus Tebell Gustave Kenneth Tebell (September 6, 1897 – May 28, 1969) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. From 1925 to 1929, he coached football at North Carolina State University, where he ...

was serving in the

Later life

Corcoran spent many years as a playground supervisor for the city of Boston and was the director of the Hearst

sandlot baseball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. In the 20th centu ...

program in Boston for fourteen years.

Bill Monbouquette William Charles Monbouquette (August 11, 1936 – January 25, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1958–65), Detroit Tigers (19 ...

Harry Agganis Aristotle George "Harry" Agganis (April 20, 1929 – June 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was an American college football player and professional baseball player. After passing up a potential professional football career, he played in ...

Tom Gastall Thomas Everett Gastall (June 13, 1932 – September 20, 1956) was an American professional baseball player who spent two years in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher with the Baltimore Orioles in and . A right-handed batter and thrower, he ...

, and Frank Leja were among the players that came through the Hearst program under Corcoran. Corcoran came down with pneumonia in the winter of 1957–58. By April 1958, his heart began to weaken. He died on July 27, 1958 at Quigley Memorial Hospital in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

. He was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in

West Roxbury, Massachusetts West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

Head coaching record

Football

Baseball

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corcoran, Bunny 1894 births 1958 deaths American football ends Akron Pros players Baseball players from Boston Buffalo All-Americans players Burials at St. Joseph Cemetery (West Roxbury, Massachusetts) Canton Bulldogs players Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players Cleveland Indians (NFL) players Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Fordham Rams baseball players Fordham Rams football players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Georgetown Hoyas baseball players Georgetown Hoyas football players Norfolk Mary Janes players People from Roxbury, Boston Petersburg Goobers players Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Boston Portland Blue Sox players Providence Steam Roller players Rocky Mount Tar Heels players Tarboro Tarbabies players United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of World War I Virginia Cavaliers baseball coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches Newport Naval Reserves football players