John William "Red" O'Quinn (September 7, 1925 – April 21, 2002) was a

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

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Early life

John William "Red" O'Quinn, Jr. was born in Bluett Falls, North Carolina. He graduated from Asheboro High School in

Asheboro, North Carolina Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,156 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greensboro- High Point Metropolitan Area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the st ...

in 1943 and was inducted in the AHS Hall of Fame in 2004. O'Quinn 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 ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

between 1946 and 1949. He was a star receiver, with 1974 career yards, his best year being 1948, when he led the nation with 39 catches for 605 yards and seven

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He was inducted into the Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.

Professional career

NFL

O'Quinn was drafted by 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 ...

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 ...

in the

1949 NFL draft The 1949 NFL draft was held on December 21, 1948, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The draft was preceded by a secret draft meeting held November 15, 1948, at the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh. This was the third year that the ...

, in the third round, 31st overall. He would play 12 games for the Bears in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

, intercepting three passes and returning one for a touchdown. He played two games with the Bears in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

before being traded to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, where he played two more games and caught three passes.

CFL

Red would move north to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, where he would play eight seasons (1952–1959) and 110 regular season games. He teamed up with CFL great Sam Etcheverry to form one of the best pass and catch tandems in league history. He caught 499 passes for 7,699 yards and 34 touchdowns in his career (all team records until Ben Cahoon broke them) and was a five-time all-star. He played in three

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

losses, though the classic 1954 42nd Grey Cup may have been his finest game. He caught a record 13 passes for a record 316 receiving yards, with 90 of those coming on one of the best pass touchdowns in Grey Cup history (and the second longest ever).

Post playing days

After his playing days and a short stint in industry, Red returned to football as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

from 1962 to 1969, winning a pair of Grey Cups in 1968 and 1969. Red returned to the

in 1970 as general manager, where he teamed with his old friend and former QB Sam Ectheverry as the Alouettes new head coach. Together they took the team from last place to Grey Cup Champions in their first year together. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1981. Red died in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, in 2002.

External links

Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oquinn, John 1925 births 2002 deaths Sportspeople from Brunswick County, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football wide receivers Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Chicago Bears players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of Canadian football from North Carolina Canadian football wide receivers Montreal Alouettes players Montreal Alouettes general managers Ottawa Rough Riders general managers Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees

Early life

Professional career

NFL

CFL

Post playing days

See also

External links