Joe O'Donnell (American football)
| Position: | Offensive guard |
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| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | August 31, 1941 |
| Place of birth: | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Career information | |
| College: | Michigan |
| NFL Draft: | 1964 / Round: 3 / Pick: 40 |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Player stats at PFR | |
Joseph Raymond "Joe" O'Donnell (born August 31, 1941) is a former American football player. He played college football as a fullback, guard and tackle for the University of Michigan from 1960 to 1963. He also played professional football as a guard and tackle for eight seasons for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League and the National Football League. He was a part of the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship teams. O'Donnell was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1965. In 1974, he came out of retirement to play for the Birmingham Americans of the upstart World Football League. He played for the WFL's Birmingham Vulcans in the 1975 season until the league collapsed, returning him to retirement from pro football.
Joe was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 3rd round of the 1964 NFL draft, and by the Buffalo Bills in the 13th round of the AFL draft (in that era, the AFL and NFL were separate leagues and held separate drafts). He chose to play for the Bills.
Joe played his college football at the University of Michigan, where he began his career as a fullback, but moved to the offensive line in his sophomore year. Joe also punted for the Wolverines, and is remembered for a fake punt in a game against Southern Methodist University in 1963 in which he rambled 50 yards for a touchdown. The fake punt was not a called play. Joe had noticed the defensive end releasing early for the return on the previous punt and decided to run for it if he saw that again.
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