John Roland "Johnny" Gilroy (born March 5, 1896), also known as "The Great Gilroy", was an All-American 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...

 halfback

Halfback (American football)

A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

 for Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 and a professional football player for the Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

 (1920), Cleveland Tigers (1920), Washington Senators

Washington Senators (NFL)

Washington Senators, also referred to as the Washington Pros or Washington Presidents, was a professional football club from Washington, D.C.. The team played in the American Professional Football Association during the 1921 season, and continued to operate as a football club until 1941...

 (1921), and Boston Bulldogs

Boston Bulldogs (AFL)

The Boston Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Robert McKirby, the Bulldogs lasted only six games into the AFL season, playing one home game in Braves Field and one in Fenway Park...

 (1926).

Early years

Sources vary as to Gilroy's date of birth, one indicating he was born on March 5, 1896, and another indicating he was born on October 24, 1895. He was born in Hudson, Massachusetts

Hudson, Massachusetts

Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2010 census. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40-minute drive, or about , west of Boston, and about a 20-minute drive, or about , northeast of Worcester.Before its...

 and raised in Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...

. Gilroy was five feet, 11 inches in height and weighed 175 pounds. He attended high school at Haverhill High School before enrolling at Georgetown.

Athlete at Georgetown

At Georgetown, he was a star athlete and became known as "The Great Gilroy." Gilroy excelled as a rusher, passer, and kicker. In a 1915 game against North Carolina, Gilroy returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Later in the year, he helped Georgetown to the most lopsided win in the school's history, a 90-0 victory over St. Louis. In 1916, Gilroy led all college football players in scoring with 160 points, including 20 touchdowns and 40 points after touchdown. He also threw 12 touchdown passes to help Georgetown to a 9-1 record. In a 1916 victory over Albright by the score of 80-0, Gilroy scored 47 points on six touchdowns and 11 points after touchdown. He also scored 37 points against Bucknell. In a 1917 game against Fordham, Gilroy was not playing "with his usual pep," and it was discovered after the game that he had been playing with a broken shoulder, leading one writer to call him "one of the gamest players of the game."

Gilroy finished his college career holding school records for career scoring (307 points), touchdowns (63), and points after touchdown (49). Gilroy graduated from Georgetown's dental school in 1919.

Professional football

After graduating from college, Gilroy played professional football. He played for the Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

 (1920), Cleveland Tigers (1920), Washington Senators

Washington Senators (NFL)

Washington Senators, also referred to as the Washington Pros or Washington Presidents, was a professional football club from Washington, D.C.. The team played in the American Professional Football Association during the 1921 season, and continued to operate as a football club until 1941...

 (1921), and Boston Bulldogs

Boston Bulldogs (AFL)

The Boston Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Robert McKirby, the Bulldogs lasted only six games into the AFL season, playing one home game in Braves Field and one in Fenway Park...

 (1926). He also served as the football coach of Wofford College

Wofford College

Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...

 for a time.

Later years

Gilroy was arrested in 1940 on charges of larceny of machinery. He was charged with breaking into a Massachusetts shoe factory and stealing 35 shoe stitching machines valued at $2,200 (close to $32,000 today). The theft was alleged to have occurred in February 1939. At the time of his arrest, Gilroy (described as "a former Georgetown university football star") was married with four children and was employed as a material inspector for the Works Progress Administration

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

.

See also

• 1915 College Football All-America Team
  1915 College Football All-America Team
  The 1915 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations in 1915. The organizations that chose the teams included Collier's Weekly selected by Walter Camp.-Key:*WC = Collier's Weekly as...
  
  
• 1916 College Football All-America Team
  1916 College Football All-America Team
  The 1916 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations in 1916...