Joseph Raymond O'Donnell (August 31, 1941 – January 17, 2019) 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 with ...

player. 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 ...

as a fullback,

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 ...

and tackle for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1960 to 1963. He also played professional football as a guard and tackle for eight seasons for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in 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. ...

(AFL) and 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). He was a part of the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

AFL Championship For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessi ...

teams. O'Donnell was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in

. He also came out of retirement to play in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL) in 1974 and 1975.

Early life

O'Donnell was born in 1941 in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, and attended Milan High School in nearby

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. He was a standout athlete in football, basketball and track. He was an all-state running back in 1958, scoring six touchdowns in a game and 24 in an eight-game season. He also set a Milan school record in basketball with 49 points in a game.

University of Michigan

O'Donnell enrolled at the

in 1959. He played for the freshman football team in 1959 as a fullback and retained that position on Michigan's varsity football team in 1960. For the 1961 season, he was moved to the guard position, but broke his arm in the first game against UCLA and sat out the remainder of the season. He was granted an additional year of eligibility due to his missing the 1961 season. He was then moved to the tackle position in 1962 and had more playing time than any other Michigan player that year. At the end of the 1962 season, he was voted by his teammates to be the captain of the

1963 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1963 Big Ten Conference football season. In its fifth year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 3–4–2 ...

. In 1963, O'Donnell moved back to the guard position, and also served as the team's punter. He averaged 36.4 yards per kick on 48 punts during the 1963 season. In the 1963 season opener against SMU, he faked a punt and ran 50 yards for a touchdown. The fake punt was not a called play. O'Donnell said after the game that he saw one side of SMU's line collapse and took off. He also recovered two fumbles in a 1963 victory over Northwestern. At the end of the 1963 season, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

selected O'Donnell as a first-team player on its

1963 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1963 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1963 Big Ten Conference football season. The selectors for the 1963 season were the Associa ...

. O'Donnell was also an outstanding student at Michigan. He was named to the Big Ten All-Academic teams in 1962 and 1963 and, in 1964, was named to the All-Time All-Academic Big Ten football team.

Professional football

O'Donnell 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) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the third round of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL dra ...

and by the

in the 13th round of the AFL draft (in that era, the AFL and NFL were separate leagues and held separate drafts). He chose to play for the Bills. O'Donnell played for the Bills, primarily as their

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...

from 1964 through 1971. In 1964, he was selected to play in the AFL Pro Bowl. He was traded to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

prior to the 1972 season in exchange for guard Irv Goode. He chose to retire from pro football prior to the 1972 season and so never played with the Cardinals. In 1974, he came out of retirement to play for the

Birmingham Americans The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in t ...

of the

(WFL). He played for the WFL's

Birmingham Vulcans The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...

in the 1975 season until the league collapsed.

Post-retirement

After retiring from football, O'Donnell started and ran several businesses including a floor-covering business called "Yardage Distributors", and a butcher-shop/bakery called "The Butcher - The Baker". In 1978, he moved his family from their farm in Eden, New York back to Milan, Michigan. He was active in civic affairs in Milan serving on the school board for many years. In the 1980s he organized the annual "Great American Pig Roast" which was a successful fundraising event for the school district. He also served on the coaching staff at Milan High School for many years. In 2010, the high school football field in Milan was renamed "Joe O'Donnell Field" in recognition of his service to the community and the football program. In the late 1980s O'Donnell provided the color commentary for the radio broadcasts of the University of Michigan football games on the Michigan Farm Radio Network. O'Donnell was married to Caroline (Kerr) O'Donnell (deceased) and has three sons. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease in 2019.

References

External links