John Grattan O'Connell was a professional football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player in the early National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Hartford Blues

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.-Origins:...

 and the Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

The Providence Steam Roller was a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football League from 1925 to 1931. Providence was the first New England team to win an NFL championship...

. Prior to his professional career, he played at the football at the college level

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

, while attending Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

. While in college, he started every game of his four-year football career with the Eagles. He once blocked six kicks in a game, while at BC and earned All-American honors during his junior year. Outside of football, he played for the school's basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

team. In 1971, he was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame.