 O'Rourke as a Baltimore Colt, 1948 | |||||||||
| No. 48, 68, 66 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1917-05-10)May 10, 1917 Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||||||||
| Died: | April 14, 2000(2000-04-14) (aged 82) Brockton, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Malden (Malden, Massachusetts) | ||||||||
| College: | Boston College | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1941: 5th round, 39th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Career: | 21–39–4 (.359) | ||||||||
Charles Christopher "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke Sr. (May 10, 1917 – April 14, 2000) was anAmerican football player and coach. He playedcollege football as aquarterback atBoston College and professionally withChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL) and theLos Angeles Dons andBaltimore Colts of theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC).
As a collegian, O'Rourke quarterbacked theBoston College Eagles football team to one of its most famous wins. His 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter gave the1940 Eagles a 19–13 victory overTennessee in the1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to anational 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 theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
Born in 1917, O'Rourke grew up inMalden, Massachusetts and played football atMalden High School. While at Malden, O'Rourke played thehalfback position, earning three varsity letters and captaining the team during his senior year.[1] He was named to the Massachusetts All-State football team twice — in both 1936 and 1937.[1]
Although all of his records have been broken, O'Rourke was one ofBoston College's first star quarterbacks. In three seasons, he completed 69 of 150 passes for 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The 1940 Boston College team is remembered as arguably the greatest football team in the history of the school. After the previous year's team earned the school's first appearance in a bowl game (Boston College lost toClemson in the1940 Cotton Bowl Classic) O'Rourke's running backs included veterans Frank Maznicki, Lou Montgomery (Boston College's first African-American football player), and team captainHenry Toczylowski. They were joined by a talented newcomer namedMike Holovak. The team also had wonderful receivers including Henry Woronicz,Gene Goodreault, Ed Zabilski, andDon Currivan.
The 1940 team was undefeated outscoring its opponents 320–52 and held six teams scoreless. Boston College impressed the sports community by defeatingTulane 27–7 in the second week of the season and defeatingGeorgetown 19–18, snapping Georgetown's streak of twenty-two consecutive wins. On January 1, 1941, Boston College defeated Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, 19–13. BC claims it won the national title in a three-way tie withStanford andMinnesota, however theNCAA does not recognize Boston College as a national champion in that year.
O'Rourke was named anAll-American in 1940 as a halfback, as well as being selected as Most Valuable Player inNew England.[1]
O'Rourke was drafted in the fifth round of the 1941 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.[2] O'Rourke's professional career began in 1942 with theChicago Bears. He saw limited playing time behind incumbent starterSid Luckman, completing 37 of 88 passes for 951 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. The 11 touchdowns set a new Bears rookie record which stood until 2024 when it was broken by Caleb Williams.[3] O'Rourke also intercepted three passes on defense, returned two punts, and made 23 punts for 817 yards for the 11–0 Bears.
O'Rourke entered theUnited States Navy in 1943, playing football in California during the time of his service for theFleet City Bluejackets.[1]
After three years in the Navy, O'Rourke returned to professional football in 1946 signing a contract with theLos Angeles Dons of the upstartAll-America Football Conference (AAFC). In two seasons in Los Angeles he completed 194 of 354 passes for 2,699 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions.
In 1948 he joined the AAFC'sBaltimore Colts as a punter and back up quarterback behindY. A. Tittle. In 1949, he played only five games before retiring and becoming an assistant coach for Baltimore until the team folded in 1950.
Aside from his two years as an NFL coach, O'Rourke was head football coach atUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) from 1952 to 1959. In seasons he compiled a 21–39–4 record with only one winning season (1952).
To honor the famed meeting between O'Rourke andBanks McFadden in the1940 Cotton Bowl Classic, theO'Rourke–McFadden Trophy was introduced in 2008 and is awarded to the winner of the annual football game betweenBoston College andClemson. The game is in-conference rivalry since Boston College joined theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2005, and both teams play in the ACC's Atlantic Division.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UMass Redmen(Yankee Conference)(1952–1959) | |||||||||
| 1952 | UMass | 4–3–1 | 1–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1953 | UMass | 1–7 | 0–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1954 | UMass | 4–4 | 1–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1955 | UMass | 4–4 | 1–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1956 | UMass | 2–5–1 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1957 | UMass | 1–5–1 | 1–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1958 | UMass | 2–6 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1959 | UMass | 3–5–1 | 2–2 | 2nd | |||||
| UMass: | 21–39–4 | 8–22–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 21–39–4 | ||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
