Charles Christopher "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke Sr. (May 10, 1917 – April 14, 2000) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. 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 ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and professionally with

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 Los Angeles Dons season, 1946 to 1949 Los Angeles Dons season, 1949, and played their home games in the L ...

and

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC). As a collegian, O'Rourke quarterbacked the

Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of t ...

team to one of its most famous wins. His 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter gave the 1940 Eagles a 19–13 victory over

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in the 1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. O'Rourke served as the head football coach at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) from 1952 to 1959, compiling a record of 21–39–4. In 1972, he came the first Boston College player to be inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Early life

Born in 1917, O'Rourke grew up in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

and played football at

Malden High School Malden High School is a public high school in Malden, Massachusetts, Malden, Massachusetts. Established in 1857, the school is part of the Malden Public Schools and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). A ...

. While at Malden, O'Rourke played the halfback position, earning three varsity letters and captaining the team during his senior year.''Baltimore Colts vs. New York Yankess, Sept. 5th.'' Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Colts, 1948; p. 7. He was named to the Massachusetts All-State football team twice — in both 1936 and 1937.

Boston College

Although all of his records have been broken, O'Rourke was one of

's first star quarterbacks. In three seasons, he completed 69 of 150 passes for 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns. The 1940 Boston College team is remembered as arguably the greatest football team in the history of the school. After the previous year's team earned the school's first appearance in a bowl game (Boston College lost to Clemson in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic) O'Rourke's running backs included veterans Frank Maznicki, Lou Montgomery (Boston College's first African-American football player), and team captain Henry Toczylowski. They were joined by a talented newcomer named

Mike Holovak Michael Joseph Holovak (September 19, 1919 – January 27, 2008) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was the fifth over ...

. The team also had wonderful receivers including Henry Woronicz, Gene Goodreault, Ed Zabilski, and Don Currivan. The 1940 team was undefeated outscoring its opponents 320–52 and held six teams scoreless. Boston College impressed the sports community by defeating Tulane 27–7 in the second week of the season and defeating Georgetown 19–18, snapping Georgetown's streak of twenty-two consecutive wins. On January 1, 1941, Boston College defeated Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, 19–13. BC claims it won the national title in a three-way tie with

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, however the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

does not recognize Boston College as a national champion in that year. O'Rourke was named an All-American in 1940 as a halfback, as well as being selected as Most Valuable Player in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Professional career

O'Rourke was drafted in the fifth round of the 1941 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. O'Rourke's professional career began in 1942 with the

. He saw limited playing time behind incumbent starter

Sid Luckman Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led t ...

, completing 37 of 88 passes for 951 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. The 11 touchdowns set a new Bears rookie record which stood until 2024 when it was broken by Caleb Williams. O'Rourke also intercepted three passes on defense, returned two punts, and made 23 punts for 817 yards for the 11–0 Bears. O'Rourke entered 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 ...

in 1943, playing football in California during the time of his service for the Fleet City Bluejackets. After three years in the Navy, O'Rourke returned to professional football in 1946 signing a contract with the

of the upstart

(AAFC). In two seasons in Los Angeles he completed 194 of 354 passes for 2,699 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions. In 1948 he joined the AAFC's

as a punter and back up quarterback behind

Y. A. Tittle Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr. (October 24, 1926 – October 8, 2017) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants; he also ...

. In 1949, he played only five games before retiring and becoming an assistant coach for Baltimore until the team folded in 1950.

Coaching career

Aside from his two years as an NFL coach, O'Rourke was head football coach at

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

(UMass) from 1952 to 1959. In seasons he compiled a 21–39–4 record with only one winning season (1952).

O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy

To honor the famed meeting between O'Rourke and Banks McFadden in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic, the

O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy The O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy was created in 2008 by the Boston College Gridiron Club to commemorate the tradition at Clemson and Boston College while honoring the legacy of Charlie O'Rourke and Banks McFadden. O'Rourke and McFadden are m ...

was introduced in 2008 and is awarded to the winner of the annual football game between

and Clemson. The game is in-conference rivalry since Boston College joined the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) in 2005, and both teams play in the ACC's Atlantic Division.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Charlie 1917 births 2000 deaths American football quarterbacks Canadian emigrants to the United States Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) coaches Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players Boston College Eagles football players Chicago Bears players Fleet City Bluejackets football players Los Angeles Dons players UMass Minutemen football coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Brockton, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Malden, Massachusetts Players of American football from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Gridiron football people from Montreal Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Quebec