Charles Francis Donnelly (February 4, 1885 – May 1967) was an American educator,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er, and

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 ...

and golf coach. He served as the head football coach at Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

—in 1911 and

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

in 1913. Donnelly was also the head golf 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 ...

from 1934 to 1948.

Life and career

A native of

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, Charley was the third child of John and Mary Ellen (Corcoran) Donnelly and the younger brother of James C. Donnelly, a standout football player and coach. His youngest brother, Ralph E. Donnelly, was also a notable football player and war hero. He attended Worcester High School, where he played on a championship football team. He attended the

, and played as a substitute

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

in 1907. After college, he began selling insurance and had an office out of 311 Main Street. In 1910, he moved to Washington, D.C., and he coached Eastern High School on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and ''

The Washington Herald ''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. History The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...

'' considered that team "one of the best football elevens in the history of the institution". Donnelly also coached the Eastern High baseball team to success.Donnelly, Eastern High Coach, Signed by Maryland Aggies: Will Be Full-fledged Member of the Faculty and Coach Baseball Nine, Also Football Eleven.
''The Washington Herald'', June 26, 1911. In June 1911, while he worked as a clerk for the

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

,Morris Allison Bealle, ''King of American Football: The Story of Football at Maryland Agricultural College, Maryland State College and the University of Maryland: 1890–1952'', p. 66, Columbia Publishing Co., Washington, D.C., 1952. Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

—hired him as an assistant English instructor and head coach for its

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 team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

s. Donnelly resigned as coach midseason after the football team compiled a 2–4–2 record, including an embarrassing 14–0 loss to Central High School. Maryland turned to alumnus

Curley Byrd Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd (February 12, 1889 – October 2, 1970) was an American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician. Byrd began a long association with the University of Maryland as an undergraduate in 1905, and ...

, high school coach at

Western High School Western High School may refer: Schools in the United States *Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California * Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois * Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida * Western High S ...

, as his replacement. He returned to Worcester in 1912 and by 1917, he was listed as the assistant state actuary. He soon was selling insurance again and eventually he became a partner in the local agency Sullivan, Garrity & Donnelly. Charles married Ethel (Estes) Donnelly and they had no children. In 1913, he returned to coaching football for one season when he was head coach at

. During the 1940s, Charles was the head of the License Commission for the City of Worcester. At the end of his life he lived at the apartment on 46 Elm Street in Worcester. He died on May 1, 1967 at age 82. Donnelly was an accomplished golfer. On August 1, 1926, he set records for nine and 18 holes at the

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Country Club. In 1927, he won the Worcester Municipal golf championship. In 1932, he finished second in the Northeastern District

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

golf tournament in

Longmeadow, Massachusetts Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...

. Donnelly served as the coach of the golf team at his alma mater, Holy Cross, between at least 1934 and 1948. While there, he coached future professional golfers

Paul Harney Paul Harney (July 11, 1929 – August 24, 2011) was an American professional golfer and golf course owner who spent part of his career as a full-time PGA Tour player, but mostly was a club professional, part-time Tour player, and owner-operator o ...

and

Willie Turnesa William P. Turnesa (January 20, 1914 – June 16, 2001) was an American amateur golfer, best known for winning two U.S. Amateur titles and the British Amateur. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers; Phil (1896-1987), Frank (1898-1949), ...

. In 1943, Donnelly captured the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

senior golf championship at Newtonville in an 18-hole playoff with a score of 79 strokes. From 1951 to 1954, Donnelly was the president of the New England Senior Golfers' Association.Past President
, New England Senior Golfers' Association, Inc., retrieved October 11, 2011.

Head coaching record

College football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Charley 1885 births 1967 deaths American football quarterbacks Holy Cross Crusaders football players Maryland Terrapins football coaches WPI Engineers football coaches College golf coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Washington, D.C. Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Worcester, Massachusetts