John Grattan O'Connell (October 27, 1902 – March 14, 1942) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

. He played two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1926 to 1927. He played for the

Hartford Blues The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3–7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome. Hall of Famers Season-by-season Referen ...

during the 1926 season and the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leag ...

during the 1927 season. Prior to his professional career, O'Connell played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. There he started every game of his four-year football career with the Eagles. O'Connell once blocked six kicks in a game while at BC and earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors during his junior year. He also played for the school's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team. O'Connell was a cartoonist and contributed to '' The Heights'' while at Boston College. He was later a sportswriter for the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

''. O'Connell died on March 14, 1942, at his home in

Simsbury, Connecticut Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census. History Early history At ...

. In 1971, O'Connell was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

*
Boston College profile
* 1902 births 1942 deaths American football ends American men's basketball players Boston College Eagles football players Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Hartford Blues players Providence Steam Roller players Sportspeople from Bristol, Connecticut People from Simsbury, Connecticut Players of American football from Litchfield County, Connecticut Players of American football from Hartford County, Connecticut Basketball players from Connecticut Journalists from Connecticut Sportswriters from Connecticut {{Amfoot-bio-stub Bristol Central High School alumni