 Donovan in 1960 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 49, 39, 70 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Defensive tackle Tackle | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1924-06-05)June 5, 1924 The Bronx, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 4, 2013(2013-08-04) (aged 89) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 263 lb (119 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Mount Saint Michael Academy (The Bronx, New York) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Notre Dame Boston College | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1947: 22nd round, 204 Redrafted1951, 4th round, 50th pick after termination of Colts franchise.th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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Arthur James "Fatso"Donovan Jr. (June 5, 1924 – August 4, 2013), was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive tackle for threeNational Football League (NFL) teams, primarily theBaltimore Colts. He playedcollege football for theBoston College Eagles. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
Art Donovan, born June 5, 1924,[1] was the son of Arthur Donovan Sr., a boxing referee, and the grandson ofProfessor Mike Donovan, the worldmiddleweight boxing champion in the 1870s.
Art attendedMount Saint Michael Academy in theBronx.
Donovan received a scholarship to theUniversity of Notre Dame in 1942 but owing to the outbreak of war he left after one semester to join theUnited States Marine Corps, enlisting in April 1943. He remained under colors for four years, serving in thePacific Theatre duringWorld War II. He took part in some of the conflict's fiercest engagements, such as theBattle of Luzon and theBattle of Iwo Jima. He also served as an ammo-loader on a 40mm gun on the aircraft carrierUSS San Jacinto and as a member of3rd Marine Division.
His earned citations, which included theAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and thePhilippine Liberation Medal, and would later earn him a place in the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, the first pro football player so honored. After the war, he completed his college career atBoston College.
In each of his first three seasons, Donovan played for a team that went out of business. He started out with the firstBaltimore Colts, which folded after his rookie season in1950. Players formerly on the Colts roster were dispersed throughout the league via the1951 NFL draft, with Donovan redrafted by theCleveland Browns with the last pick of the fourth round in January.
At the end of August, the Browns still held 40 players on their roster. Donovan, together with teammateSisto Averno, were sent by the world champs to the weak sister of the league, theNew York Yanks, apparently without receiving significant compensation.[2]
Donovan would spend the1951 with the Yanks, and their successor, theDallas Texans, in1952.
After the Texans franchise folded, many of their players moved to Baltimore when the Colts were awarded a new franchise in 1953 and became thesecond Baltimore Colts, Donovan played with that team. He became one of the stars in an outstanding defense and was selected to five straightPro Bowls, from 1953 through 1957. The Colts won back-to-back championships in1958 and1959. He was selected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in1968.[3] He was runner up as best defensive tackle on theNFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.[4]
During his career, Donovan played in what many believe was one of the most important games in NFL history, the1958 NFL Championship Game between the Colts and theNew York Giants.[5] The contest between the two teams took place on December 28, 1958, and ended in a 17–17 tie. Being the championship game, it went into overtime, the first NFL game to do so. Witnessed by 40 million viewers on nationwide television, the game came to be known as the "greatest game ever played." Donovan made an important tackle during the overtime, stopping the Giants and allowingJohnny Unitas to lead the Colts on an 80-yard scoring drive to win the game. Donovan was one of 12 Hall of Fame players to take part, six of whom were Colts.[5]
He published an autobiography,Fatso, in1987. He was noted as a jovial and humorous person during his playing career and capitalized on that with television and speaking appearances after retiring as a player. He owned and managed a country club near Baltimore. Donovan also appeared ten times onLate Night with David Letterman, telling humorous stories about his old playing days and about other footballers he played with and against in his time. He relayed a story that he played without a helmet and in fact is shown on football cards without a helmet. Letterman wore Donovan's No. 70 Colts jersey in the famousSuper Bowl XLI commercial withOprah Winfrey andJay Leno.[6] Donovan also made several appearances onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[7][8]
Donovan guest-starred in theNickelodeon showThe Adventures of Pete & Pete in the episode "Space, Geeks, andJohnny Unitas". He also appeared as a guest commentator at theWWF King of the Ring tournament in 1994.[9] Donovan's appearance at the event would become infamous among wrestling fans for being seemingly uninformed about the product as well as generally befuddled behavior such as repeatedly asking how much certain wrestlers weighed.[10] He was joined byGorilla Monsoon on play-by-play, who inadvertently referred to Donovan as "Art O'Donnell", andRandy Savage.[10]
He was co-host of the popular 1990s programBraase, Donovan, Davis and Fans onWJZ-TV in Baltimore with Colt teammateOrdell Braase. The trio talked more about Art Donovan's fabled stories than contemporary NFL football, but the show held high ratings in its time slot. He was also apitchman for theMaryland State Lottery andESPN.[citation needed]
In the 1996Homicide: Life on the Street episode 'Hostage, Part 1," Donovan appeared as the neighbor of a murder victim.[11]
He has been interviewed in NPR'sWeekend Edition Saturday.
Donovan was married to the former Dorothy Schaech for 57 years. Since 1955 they owned and managed the Valley Country Club[12] inTowson, Maryland. Although he was the owner, Donovan was known for doing manual labor at the club to include painting and working in the kitchen washing pots and pans.[5]
Donovan died August 4, 2013, atStella Maris Hospice in Baltimore from arespiratory disease at age 89.[13] A funeral mass was held at theCathedral of Mary our Queen in Baltimore, and he was buried in a private ceremony atDulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.[14]The Washington Post said of Donovan:
"With the death of Art Donovan this past week, sports lost one of its last genuine characters, in every sense of the word. A lot of guys try to get our attention. Donovan was that rare guy who didn't have to try. He was as good on the field – he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second try - as he was off it. He appeared onLate Night with David Letterman andThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and reduced both hosts and their audiences to howling in seconds. He was a player and a great storyteller and we'll never see another guy like him. That's sad for us, but it's a darn good epitaph."
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