Joe O'Donnell (American football)
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Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Oregon, U.S.
| No. 67 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Guard • Tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | August 31, 1941 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | January 17, 2020 (aged 78) Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 262 lb (119 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Milan | ||||||||
| College | Michigan (1959-1960; 1962-1963) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1964: 3rd round, 40th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1964: 13th round, 101st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||
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Joseph Raymond O'Donnell (August 31, 1941 – January 17, 2019) was an American football player. He played college football as a fullback, guard and tackle for the University of Michigan from 1960 to 1963. He also played professional football as a guard and tackle for eight seasons for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He was a part of the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship teams. O'Donnell was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1965. He also came out of retirement to play in the World Football League (WFL) in 1974 and 1975.
O'Donnell was born in 1941 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and attended Milan High School in nearby Milan.[1] 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.[2]
University of Michigan
O'Donnell enrolled at the University of Michigan 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.[3] 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.[3]
In 1963, O'Donnell moved back to the guard position, and also served as the team's punter.[4] He averaged 36.4 yards per kick on 48 punts during the 1963 season.[5] 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.[6] He also recovered two fumbles in a 1963 victory over Northwestern.[7] At the end of the 1963 season, the Associated Press selected O'Donnell as a first-team player on its 1963 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[8]
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.[9]