Michael James Connelly (October 16, 1935 – October 4, 2021) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman in 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 ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and Pittsburgh Steelers. He 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 ...

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

and was drafted in the 12th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.

Early years

Connelly attended Pasadena High School, where he practiced football and

baseball 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 tea ...

. He accepted a scholarship from

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

, playing freshman football. He then transferred to

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

for one season. He later signed for a 2-year stint with 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 ...

, before moving on to play football at

from 1958 to 1959, where he was a two-way player,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

on offense and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

on defense. He garnered All-Skyline conference honors as a senior.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Connelly was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 12th round (141st overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft, with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. He was also selected by the Buffalo Bills in the

1960 AFL Draft The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2. Teams were requ ...

. He was released by the Rams at the end of the 1960 preseason.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 9, 1960, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He started as a backup

, before being switched over to

in 1961, becoming the starter there for four straight years. Connelly was very quick for his position and as an avid weightlifter, becoming one of the strongest players on the team. In 1965 after Dave Manders won the starting position, he started to serve as a backup

and

. An injury to Manders put Connelly back in the starting lineup during all of the 1967 season, which included the Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, popularly known as the Ice Bowl. He reported to training camp in 1968 and told head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...

that he'd only play one more year. The next day he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Mike Clark.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Connelly true to his word, played only in the 1968 season before retiring.

References

External links

Former Dallas Cowboy Mike Connelly stays centered for the long run
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Mike 1935 births 2021 deaths Players of American football from Pasadena, California American football offensive linemen Pasadena City Lancers football players Washington State Cougars football players Utah State Aggies football players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players Pasadena High School (California) alumni