John William "Red" O'Quinn (September 7, 1925 – April 21, 2002) was a
end.
Early years
John William "Red" O'Quinn, Jr. was born in
Bluett Falls, North Carolina. He graduated from
Asheboro High School in
Asheboro, North Carolina
Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 25,012 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the sta ...
in 1943 and was inducted in the AHS Hall of Fame in 2004. O'Quinn played
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 ...
at
Wake Forest University between 1946 and 1949. He was a star receiver, with 1974 career yards, his best year being 1948, when he led the nation with 39
catches
Catch may refer to:
In sports
* Catch (game), children's game
* Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball
* Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket
* Catch or reception (gridiron football)
* Catch, part of a rowing stroke
In music
* Cat ...
for 605 yards and seven
touchdowns. He was inducted into the Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
Professional career
NFL
O'Quinn was
drafted by the
National Football League's
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in the
1949 NFL Draft
The 1949 National Football League Draft was held on December 21, 1948, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The draft was preceded by a secret draft meeting held November 15, 1948, at the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh.
This was the ...
, in the third round, 31st overall. He would play 12 games for the Bears in
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
,
intercepting
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
three passes and returning one for a touchdown. He played two games with the Bears in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
before being traded to the
Philadelphia Eagles, where he played two more games and caught three passes.
CFL
Red would move north to the
Montreal Alouettes of the
Canadian Football League, where he would play eight seasons (1952–1959) and 110 regular season games. He teamed up with CFL great
Sam Etcheverry to form one of the best pass and catch tandems in league history. He caught 499 passes for 7,699 yards and 34 touchdowns in his career (all team records until
Ben Cahoon recently broke them) and was a five-time all-star.
He played in three
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
losses, though the classic 1954
42nd Grey Cup
The 42nd Grey Cup football game was played on November 27, 1954, before a full house (27,321 in attendance) at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The underdog Edmonton Eskimos won a contest over the Montreal Alouettes
26–25. The game, ...
may have been his finest game. He caught a record 13 passes for a record 316 receiving yards, with 90 of those coming on one of the best pass touchdowns in Grey Cup history (and the second longest ever).
Post playing days
After his playing days and a short stint in industry, Red returned to football as
general manager for the
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...
from 1962 to 1969, winning a pair of Grey Cups in 1968 and 1969. Red returned to the
Montreal Alouettes in 1970 as general manager, where he teamed with his old friend and former QB Sam Ectheverry as the Alouettes new head coach. Together they took the team from last place to Grey Cup Champions in their first year together. He was inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
in 1981.
Red died in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario, in 2002.
See also
*
List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
External links
Wake Forest Athletics Hall of FameNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oquinn, John
1925 births
2002 deaths
People from Brunswick County, North Carolina
Players of American football from North Carolina
American football wide receivers
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players
Chicago Bears players
Philadelphia Eagles players
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football wide receivers
Montreal Alouettes players
Montreal Alouettes general managers
Ottawa Rough Riders general managers
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees