Jack O'Brien (American football)

Jack Edward O'Brien (born October 21, 1932) is an American former college and professional football player who was an end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the mid-1950s. O'Brien played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

Jack O'Brien
No. 89
Position:End
Personal information
Born: (1932-10-21) October 21, 1932
Jeannette, Pennsylvania
Died:(2016-12-22)December 22, 2016
Titusville, Florida
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:213 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:Jeannette
(Jeannette, Pennsylvania)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:1954 / Round: 7 / Pick: 79
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games played:31
Receptions:16
Receiving yards:185
Touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

O'Brien was born in Jeannette, Pennsylvania in 1932.[1] He attended Jeannette Senior High School,[2] and he played for the Jeannette Jayhawks high school football team.

College career

O'Brien attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football team from 1951 to 1953.[3] In an era when college football rules allowed only limited player substitutions, he played both offensive end and defensive end, and was rated as one of the Gators' five best ends of the 1950s by coach Woodruff.[4] O'Brien was a junior starter for the 1952 Gators team that posted an 8–3 record and defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 14–13 in the 1953 New Year's Day Gator Bowl—the first NCAA-sanctioned post-season bowl game in Gators history.[5] Together with running back Rick Casares, he was a senior team captain in 1953.[3] Woodruff later ranked O'Brien as one of the Gators' five best receivers of the 1950s.[6]

After his NFL career was over, O'Brien returned to Gainesville and graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1958.

Professional career

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected O'Brien in the seventh round (seventy-ninth pick overall) of the 1954 NFL Draft,[7] and he played in thirty-one games for the Steelers during three seasons from 1954 to 1956.[8] In an era of run-oriented offenses, O'Brien made the most of his few catches—he had sixteen receptions for 185 yards (an average of 11.6 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.[1]

See also

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Jack O'Brien. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  2. databaseFootball.com, Players, Jack O'Brien Archived May 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  3. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 123, 163, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  4. Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, p. 210–211 (1974).
  5. McEwen, The Gators, pp. 180–181.
  6. Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, pp. 210–211 (1974).
  7. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1954 National Football League Draft. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  8. National Football League, Historical Players, Jack O'Brien. Retrieved March 24, 2011.

Bibliography
  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
  • Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
  • McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
  • McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
  • Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
  • Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN 0-938637-00-2.
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