Arthur Andrew "Bunny" Corcoran (November 23, 1894 – July 27, 1958) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and baseball player. He was a tailback with the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

, Cleveland Indians,

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...

and the

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from ...

of the National Football League (NFL) and the Frankford Yellow Jackets and the Canton Bulldogs of the Ohio League. In

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

, he appeared in one Major League Baseball game for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

Early life

Corcoran was born in Boston and played baseball and football at Princeton Preparatory School and Georgetown University. He received the nickname Bunny in high school due to his speed.

Playing career

Baseball

In 1915, Corcoran had a solid year for the Queen Quality team in Massachusetts. On September 9, 1915, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack gave Corcoran a tryout. He put him in the lineup for that day's game at Fenway Park and Corcoran went 0–4 with two strikeouts. Corcoran played for Fordham in 1917 and 1919 and received a tryout with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

after a strong year with the

Portland Blue Sox The Portland Blue Sox were a class-D minor league baseball team in Portland, Maine which played from 1907 to 1908 in the Maine State League and the Atlantic Association before folding. The Blue Sox were relaunched in 1919 to make up for the los ...

of the New England League. Corcoran never again appeared in a major league game, but continued to play minor league baseball until 1921.

Football

Corcoran played kicker for the

1914 Georgetown Blue and Gray football team The 1914 Georgetown Blue and Gray football team represented Georgetown University during the 1914 college football season. Led by Albert Exendine Albert Andrew "Ex" Exendine (January 7, 1884 – January 4, 1973) was an American football player, ...

and tried out for end the following season. He took over as starter for the team's October 2, 1915 game against Navy. He scored a touchdown in Georgetown's 28–0 victory over the North Carolina A&M Aggies and another in the Hoyas' 61–0 win against South Carolina. Corcoran transferred to

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and played end for the

1916 Fordham Maroon football team The 1916 Fordham Maroon football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University as an independent during the 1916 college football season. Under first-year head coach Frank Gargan John Francis Gargan (July 1, 1888 – A ...

. He enlisted in the United States Navy the following year and was a member of the

1917 Newport Naval Reserves football team The 1917 Newport Naval Reserves football team was an American football team that represented the United States Navy's Second District Naval Reserve stationed at the Newport Naval Reserve Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island, during the 191 ...

. In 1919, Corcoran played for the Canton Bulldogs, an Ohio League football team managed by Jim Thorpe. In 1920, the Bulldogs moved to the new American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League). In 1921 he followed Thorpe to the Cleveland Indians, where he scored his only NFL touchdown. He played for the

in 1921 and 1922, the

in 1922, and the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1923. In 1924, he was a member of the Providence Steamrollers, then an independent club.

Coaching

Corcoran began his coaching career when he assisted his former Fordham coach Frank Gargan for the first few weeks of the NYU Violets' 1920 football season. In 1923, he and Gargan both returned to Fordham. In 1926, Corcoran became the ends coach at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

. During the Crusaders' November 5, 1932 loss to Brown, head coach John McEwan got into an argument with trainer Bart Sullivan which led to McEwan's indefinite suspension. Corcoran finished the season as interim head coach. He was not retained by McEwan's successor, Eddie Anderson. In 1939, Corcoran became the ends coach at the University of Virginia. In 1943, he coached the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team while Gus Tebell was serving in the United States Navy.

Later life

Corcoran spent many years as a playground supervisor for the city of Boston and was the director of the Hearst sandlot baseball program in Boston for fourteen years. Bill Monbouquette, Harry Agganis,

Tom Gastall Thomas Everett Gastall (June 13, 1932 – September 20, 1956) was an American professional baseball player who spent two years in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher with the Baltimore Orioles in and . A right-handed batter and thrower, he s ...

, and

Frank Leja Frank John Leja Jr. (February 7, 1936 – May 3, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. The first baseman appeared in a total of 26 games with the New York Yankees (1954–55) and Los Angeles Angels (1962) of Major League Baseball. ...

were among the players that came through the Hearst program under Corcoran. Corcoran came down with pneumonia in the winter of 1957–58. By April 1958, his heart began to weaken. He died on July 27, 1958 at Quigley Memorial Hospital in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

. He was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Head coaching record

Football

Baseball

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corcoran, Art 1894 births 1958 deaths American football ends Akron Pros players Baseball players from Boston Buffalo All-Americans players Burials at St. Joseph Cemetery (West Roxbury, Massachusetts) Canton Bulldogs players Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players Cleveland Indians (NFL) players Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Fordham Rams baseball players Fordham Rams football players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Georgetown Hoyas baseball players Georgetown Hoyas football players Norfolk Mary Janes players People from Roxbury, Boston Petersburg Goobers players Philadelphia Athletics players Players of American football from Boston Portland Blue Sox players Providence Steam Roller players Rocky Mount Tar Heels players Tarboro Tarbabies players United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of World War I Virginia Cavaliers baseball coaches Virginia Cavaliers football coaches Newport Naval Reserves football players