Joseph McKenney (March 1, 1905 – May 17, 1995) 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 ...

player, coach, and official. He served as the head football coach 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 classified ...

from 1928 to 1934, compiling a record of 44–18–3. McKenney also played at Boston College and was the starting

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 Am ...

for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

from 1923 to 1926.

Early life

McKenney was born and raised in

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as " ...

and was a baseball, football and track star at Brighton High School. He was an all-scholastic end in 1920 and 1921 as well as an all-scholastic pitcher. When McKenney graduated from BHS in 1923, he was invited to the Harvard Club by his principal. There he was presented with a $1,000

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

and McKenney, who grew up close to

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footb ...

and was a former Crimson mascot, accepted without telling his parents. When his mother read about his going to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the '' Boston Post'', she told him that he must go to a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

or go to work.

Boston College

McKenney played

and punter for Boston College and was

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

during their undefeated 1926 season. He was the starting all four years he played for the Eagles. An injury suffered during his high school football career prevented him from pitching for the Boston College Eagles baseball team, however in 1927 he returned to the diamond as an outfielder. McKenney was the offensive backfield coach under D. Leo Daley in 1927. He was promoted the following season to head coach. At 22 years old he was the youngest head coach in college football. He compiled a 44–18–3 record in his seven seasons as head coach. He supplemented his income by serving as a professor of modern history at BC and taking outside jobs, including as a salesman for the Boston Coal Company.

Boston Public Schools

In 1935, McKenney was appointed to the

Boston Finance Commission The Boston Finance Commission (known as FinComm) is an agency that monitors finances for the city of Boston. It is concerned with appropriations, loans, expenditures An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in ...

by Governor

Charles F. Hurley Charles Francis Hurley (November 24, 1893 – March 24, 1946) was an American attorney and the 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and one of its first Irish-American governors. Early years Charles Francis Hurley was born in Cambr ...

. However, after the sudden death of James Crowley the following month, McKenney resigned from the commission and ended his coaching career to become the associate director of

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the ...

. Although the position paid less than his other jobs combined, it was seen as more stable. In 1945 he was promoted to director of physical education. In this role, McKenney increased the number of coaches for all sports, added golf and tennis programs, created a fund for injured athletes, and instituted athletic programs for elementary and middle schools. Along with his assistant,

William H. Ohrenberger William Henry Ohrenberger (August 23, 1906 – November 13, 1998) was an American educator who served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 1963 to 1972. Early life Ohrenberger was born on August 23, 1906. He graduated from The English ...

, McKenney oversaw the construction White Stadium. In 1966, McKenney was appointed director of personnel relations for Boston Public Schools. He was a key figure in the administration of superintendent William H. Ohrenberger, a former teammate of McKenney's and his former associate director of physical education. McKenney retired in 1970.

Football official

From 1936 to 1945, McKenney was a linesman for college football games. He also served as a linesman for the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

and

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 ...

games. In 1988 he received the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

's Outstanding Football Official Award.

Construction of Alumni Stadium

From 1938 to 1948, McKenney was a member of the Metropolitan District Commission. In 1942 he arranged for Boston College to acquire a reservoir near the campus from the MDC once it was declared inactive in exchange for his support on a similar agreement for

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. The reservoir was declared inactive in 1948 and was acquired by Boston College the following year. In 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 ...

announced they would no longer allow Boston College to play football at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

, McKenney led the fundraising drive for a new football stadium, which would be constructed on the land previously acquired from the MDC. When

Alumni Stadium Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...

opened in 1957, McKenney was the master of ceremonies.

Later life

In 1983, McKenney was awarded an honorary degree from Boston College. McKenney has the distinction of being the only person in American college history to serve as captain his football team, head coach of his football team, elected president of his college's

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools) ...

, and receive an honorary degree from the school. He was a season ticket holder for BC football until his death on May 17, 1995, at Maristhill Nursing Home in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenney, Joe 1905 births 1995 deaths American football officials American football punters American football quarterbacks Boston College Eagles baseball players Boston College Eagles football players Boston College Eagles football coaches Boston College faculty Boston Finance Commission members Brighton High School (Brighton, Massachusetts) alumni College football officials National Football League officials Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Boston