Charles Edward Brickley (November 24, 1891 – December 28, 1949) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
in 1915, at
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
from 1916 to 1917, and at
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 ...
in 1920 with
Joseph DuMoe
Joseph Thomas DuMoe (July 30, 1895 – February 23, 1959) was the head coach for the Fordham University Rams football team in 1920 and 1921. In 1920, he was co-head coach with Charles Brickley
Charles Edward Brickley (November 24, 1891 – Dec ...
as co-coach, compiling a career
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
record of 22–9. Brickley also coached the
New York Brickley Giants
The New York Giants (informally known as Brickley's Giants and Brickley's New York Giants) were a professional American football team with the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League) whose only season played ...
of the American Professional Football Association—now the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
—in 1921, tallying a mark of 0–2. He also competed at the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
.
Early life and family
Brickley was born in
Boston, Massachusetts and raised in
Everett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census.
Everett was the last city in the Un ...
. He stood 5'10" and weighed 181 pounds during his athletic career.
Athletic career
Brickley attended
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, where he played football from 1911 go 1914 for the
Crimson
Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple.
It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, ''Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colo ...
as a
fullback and
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
Spe ...
under head coach
Percy Haughton
Percy Duncan Haughton (July 11, 1876 – October 27, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia ...
. He was named an
All-American in 1913 and 1914. During the 1913
Harvard–Yale game, Brickley kicked all five of Harvard's field goals in the Crimson's 15–5 win over
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. He set college football records for most field goals made by one player in a single season (13) and most career field goals (34).
Brickley also competed in the
triple jump at 1912 Summer Olympics, finishing 9th. At the same Olympics he competed in the
baseball event which was held as
demonstration sport.
In 1917, Brickley became a
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
for the
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships i ...
, of the
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...
.
Coaching career
Brickley's first coaching job was during his senior year at Harvard, where he served as an assistant to the
University of Virginia football team during the team's August practices.
After graduating, Brickley was sought by many schools looking for head coaches, including
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
. After initially refusing to coach, Brickley eventually accepted the head coaching job at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
.
![Brickleydropkick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Brickleydropkick.png)
In 1916, he led Boston College to its first victory over rival
Holy Cross since 1889. He left Boston College in 1918 to join the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
. Brickley returned to coaching in 1921 as the backfield coach of the
Fordham Rams, coaching his youngest brother Arthur. Brickley coached the
New York Brickley Giants
The New York Giants (informally known as Brickley's Giants and Brickley's New York Giants) were a professional American football team with the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League) whose only season played ...
(Also known as Brickley's Giants or Brickley's Brooklyn Giants) of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
in
1921. In 1922, Brickley was offered the position of head coach at
Northwestern, but the two sides could not agree on terms and the school hired
Glenn Thistlethwaite
Glenn Franklin Thistlethwaite (March 18, 1885 – October 6, 1956) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Illinois College (1908), Earlham College (1909–1912), Northwest ...
instead.
Later life
Brickley did not coach football after the 1921 season. He worked as a stockbroker, shipbuilder, and advertising salesman until his death in 1949 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
He settled in
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...
, where his two sons attended high school.
Legal trouble
In 1923, Brickley was indicted on charges of illegal stock negotiations. He was found not guilty of
forgery
Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...
and
larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...
by a jury on May 28, 1925. On March 1, 1928 Brickley was found guilty of four counts of larceny and
bucketing orders from customers of Charles E. Brickley, Inc.,
stock brokerage firm, from 1925 to 1927. He was released on parole in December. In 1949, Brickley and his son, Charles, Jr. were arrested after starting a fight in a
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
restaurant. According to testimony, the fight began when Brickley overheard somebody say "Is that old bald-headed so-and-so Charlie Brickley, the football player?"
or "You mean that old bald-headed man is the great Charlie Brickley?"
Brickley died the day the charges against him were to be dismissed.
Family
Brickley's brother
George Brickley
George Vincent Brickley (July 19, 1894 – February 23, 1947) was professional athlete that competed in baseball and American football. In baseball, he played as an outfielder in the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1913. He later play ...
, played five games 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 ...
in 1913. His youngest brother Arthur Brickley played football and baseball for
Columbia (1920), Fordham (1921), and
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
(1923). Brickley's oldest son, Charles "Chick" Brickley, Jr. played football at Yale and was a minor league baseball player for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. His youngest son, John "Bud" Brickley, signed with the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in 1946 following his discharge from the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. His grandson, John Brickley, was a kicker for the
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...
. His grandnephew is former
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
player
Andy Brickley
Andrew Brickley (born August 9, 1961) is an American former professional hockey player, who spent 14 seasons playing in the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, and the International Hockey League. He currently serves as the color com ...
.
Head coaching record
College
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brickley, Charles
1891 births
1949 deaths
American football drop kickers
American football fullbacks
American football placekickers
American stock traders
American stockbrokers
American male triple jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Baseball players at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Boston College Eagles football coaches
Fordham Rams football coaches
Harvard Crimson football players
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football coaches
Massillon Tigers coaches
Massillon Tigers players
New York Brickley Giants
New York Brickley Giants players
Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
Olympic baseball players of the United States
All-American college football players
Sportspeople from New York City
Sportspeople from Boston
Sportspeople from Everett, Massachusetts
Players of American football from Boston
Baseball players from Massachusetts
Harvard College alumni
Sportspeople convicted of crimes
United States Navy personnel of World War I
United States Navy reservists