Cleo A. O'Donnell
O'Donnell pictured in Debris 1917, Purdue yearbook
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| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 10, 1883 |
| Died | February 15, 1953 (aged 69) Southbridge, Massachusetts |
| Playing career | |
| 1904–1907 | Holy Cross |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1909–1915 | Everett HS (MA) |
| 1916–1917 | Purdue |
| 1919–1929 | Holy Cross |
| 1935–1940 | Saint Anselm |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 102–46–9 (college) 68–8–6 (high school) |
Cleo Albert O'Donnell (December 10, 1883 – February 15, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Holy Cross from 1904 to 1907. He was a football coach at Everett High School (1909–1915), Purdue University (1916–1917), Holy Cross (1919–1930) and Saint Anselm College (1935–1940). His 1914 Everett team has been ranked as the greatest high school football team of all time, finishing with a 13–0 record and outscoring opponents 600 to 0. In 11 years as the head coach at Holy Cross, his teams compiled a record of 69–27–6. O'Donnell has been inducted into the Holy Cross and Saint Anselm Halls of Fame.
A native of Charlestown, Massachusetts, O'Donnell attended the Boston Latin School before enrolling at the College of Holy Cross in 1904. He played four years for the Holy Cross Crusaders football team. He was a tackle in the 1904 and 1905 seasons, and end in 1906, and a fullback in 1907. In the final game of the 1906 season, played at the Polo Grounds, O'Donnell scored both of Holy Cross's touchdowns in 15–6 win over Fordham. He was selected by his teammates as captain of the 1907 team. His final game for Holy Cross was a 34–0 loss to Fordham. Despite the one-sided game, The New York Times singled out "O'Donnell's Pretty Play" as the feature of the contest. The Times wrote:
"Again and again by the sheer force of his phenomenal running O'Donnell took the ball through the Fordham line and gained a dozen first downs. In fact, not once during the whole progress of the game was the remarkable back stopped for a loss, but, unsupported as he was, the herculean task of beating a well-drilled eleven was too much for him. ... Several stretches of thirty yards were made by his rushing, but eventually Holy Cross was forced to kick, and their advances ended there."
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