Charles A. "Chuck" Sweeney (May 5, 1914 – August 4, 1999) 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 wi ...

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

. He was a consensus All-American in 1937. In later life, he became a

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 majo ...

game official.

Playing career

Sweeney played for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Da ...

team under coach Elmer Layden during the 1935, 1936 and 1937 seasons. In his senior year he beat out team captain Joe Zwers for a starting position. During the season his play was difference in several Fighting Irish victories including a late safety against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and a blocked extra point versus

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

. He also almost single-handedly beat Northwestern by blocking a punt for the only score of the game, recovering 2 fumbles, intercepting a pass, and downing a punt at the 1 yard line. For his play, the 6-foot, 190-pound

, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having received first-team honors from several publications and organizations including the Associated Press (AP), and United Press International (UPI).''2014 NCAA Football Records Book''
Award Winners
National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 4 & 14 (2014). Retrieved August 20, 2014 After the season, he was also invited to participate in several post season All-Star games including the

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...

and the

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

. In a game that pitted the previous season NFL Champion versus a team of recently graduated college players selected by fans across the country, Sweeney broke the Chicago College All-Star game record for the most votes for a single college player. He helped the College All-Stars beat a

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

led

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

After college

After graduating from Notre Dame, he took a job as branch manager at Sinclair Refining Company in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. He worked at Sinclair until he retired in 1968. He was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

in the 1938 NFL Draft. He never played a game in the league but did take part in many games. A few years after taking the job at Sinclair, NFL commissioner and Sweeney’s former coach Elmer Layden offered him a job as a game official for the

. He officiated for 25 years including several championship games. One, the

1958 NFL Championship Game The 1958 NFL Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to be decided in sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New ...

, was the first sudden-death overtime game and became widely known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played." At the age of 85, Chuck Sweeney died August 4, 1999 of heart failure in St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Chuck 1914 births 1999 deaths American football ends Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players National Football League officials All-American college football players Sportspeople from Bloomington, Illinois