Charlie O'Rourke
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 10, 1917 Montreal, Quebec |
| Died | April 14, 2000 (aged 82) Brockton, Massachusetts |
| Playing career | |
| 1942 | Chicago Bears |
| 1946–1947 | Los Angeles Dons (AAFC) |
| 1948–1949 | Baltimore Colts (AAFC) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1949–1950 | Baltimore Colts (AAFC) (Assistant) |
| 1952–1959 | UMass |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 21–39–4 |
Charles C. "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke (May 10, 1917 – April 14, 2000) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a quarterback at Boston College and professionally with Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) and the Los Angeles Dons and Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). O'Rourke quarterbacked the Boston College Eagles football 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 in the 1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to a national championship. 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.
Although all of his records have been broken, O'Rourke was one of Boston College's first star quarterbacks. In three seasons, he completed 69 of 150 passes for 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The 1940 team is perhaps the greatest football team in the history of Boston College. 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 . They were joined by a talented newcomer named Mike Holovak. The team also had wonderful receivers including Henry Woronicz, Gene Goodreault, Ed Zabilski, and Don Currivan. The team was undefeated outscoring its opponents 320 to 52 and held six teams scoreless. Boston College impressed the sports community by defeating Tulane 27 to 7 in the second week of the season and defeating Georgetown 19 to 18, snapping Georgetown's streak of twenty-two consecutive wins. On January 1, 1941, Boston College defeated Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, 19 to 13. BC claims it won the national title in a three-way tie with Stanford and Minnesota, however the NCAA does not recognize Boston College as a national champion in that year.
...
Wikipedia