Charlie O'Rourke

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Charles C. O'Rourke (born May 10, 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, died April 14, 2000 in Brockton, Massachusetts) also known as Chuckin' Charlie is a former quarterback and defensive back for the Boston College Eagles, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Dons, and Baltimore Colts. He quarterbacked the BC football team to one of its most famous wins. It was his 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter which gave the Eagles a 19-13 victory over Tennessee in the 1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to the national championship. He was also the first Boston College player inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

[edit] Boston College

Although all of his records have been broken, O'Rourke was one of Boston College's first star quarterbacks. In 3 seasons, he completed 69 of 150 passes for 1,108 yards and 14 touchdowns.

[edit] 1940 Season

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 Cotton Bowl) O'Rourke's running backs included veterans Frank Maznicki, Lou Montgomery (Boston College's first African-American football player), and Captain Henry Toczylowski. 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 University 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. It would turn out to be Coach Frank Leahy’s final year with the Eagles before he accepted an offer to coach at his alma mater, Notre Dame.

[edit] Professional career

O'Rourke's professional career began in 1942 with the Chicago Bears. He saw limited playing time behind incumbent starter & future Hall of Famer Sid Luckman. He completed 37 of 88 passes for 951 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He also intercepted 3 passes on defense, returned 2 punts, and completed 23 punts for 817 for the 11-0 Bears. In 1946 he joined the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference as starting quarterback. In 2 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's Baltimore Colts as a punter and back up quarterback behind Hall-of-Famer Y.A. Tittle. In 1949 he played only 5 games before being replaced by Rex Grossman retiring and becoming an assistant coach for Baltimore until the team folded in 1950.

[edit] Coaching

Aside from his 2 years as an NFL coach, O'Rourke was head football coach at UMASS from 1952-1959. In 8 seasons he complied a 21-39-4 record with only 1 winning season (1952).