Eugene Joseph Goodreault (July 31, 1918 – July 13, 2010) 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. He played at the end position for

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 ...

from 1938 to 1940 and was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1940. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

Early years

Born in 1918, Goodreault attended Haverhill High School in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

where he was known as "Goo-Goo" Goodreault and was a member of the football, baseball and track teams.

Boston College

Goodreault enrolled at

in 1937. The school's publicity director, Billy Sullivan (later owner of the New England Patriots) befriended Goodreault and helped him to obtain therapy to overcome a speech impediment. As a member of Boston College's football team, Goodreault was five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 180 pounds. His profile at the College Football Hall of Fame described him as follows: "Fast, powerful and alert, Gene Goodreault was outstanding as a pass-catcher and play-maker blocker on offense and as a play-blaster, destructive tackler on defense." In 1939, Goodreault's junior year,

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to ...

was hired as the head of the Boston College Eagles football team. Goodreault helped lead the Eagles to a 9-2 record and the school's first bowl game, and appearance in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. At the end of the 1939 season, Goodreault received All-East honors and was also the first recipient of the George H. "Bulger" Lowe Trophy in 1940 as the outstanding football player in New England. As a senior, Goodreault was a member of the 1940 Boston College team that compiled an undefeated record of 11-0, outscored opponents 320–52, recorded six shutouts, and defeated No. 4

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. After the season, Goodreault was selected as a consensus player on the 1940 College Football All-America Team. He received first-team honors from, among others, the United Press, the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

, the

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American print syndication, newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. ...

, and '' Collier's Weekly'' (selected by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

Later years

Goodreault was selected in the second round (15th overall pick) in the 1941 NFL draft, but he did not play in the NFL. He served 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and operated a wool brokerage business in Massachusetts after the war. He lived in Haverhill until 2004. Goodreault was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He was also honored by Boston College as one of the inaugural inductees into its Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1970. In 2001, Boston College retired his #50 jersey in a halftime ceremony at Alumni Stadium. Goodreault moved to California in 2004. He died from cancer in 2010 at age 91 in Orinda, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodreault, Gene 1918 births 2010 deaths All-American college football players American football ends Boston College Eagles football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Haverhill, Massachusetts Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in California