Charles James Cherundolo Jr. (August 8, 1916 – December 22, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He played center and linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was born in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.
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| Position: | Center, linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 8, 1916 Old Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | December 22, 2012 (aged 96) Lakeland, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Old Forge | ||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 1937 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| As a coach: | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Playing career
editCherundolo played college football at Penn State, where he was a voted a team captain in 1936.[1] He was named All-America at Penn State.[2] He went on to play ten seasons in the NFL.[3]
Coaching career
editCherundolo was hired by the Steelers as an assistant coach upon the end of his playing career.[4] He coached with the Steelers from 1949 through 1958, leaving football in 1959. Cherundolo returned to the Steelers in 1960 as a part-time scout and returned as a full-time assistant coach for the 1961 season. He went on to coach for the Philadelphia Eagles with head coach and friend Nick Skorich in 1962 and 1963, then went on to coach with the Washington Redskins until 1966, when he coached for the Chicago Bears for a total of eight years, interrupted by a one-year coaching job for the Tri-City Apollos of Midland, Michigan. He coached a total of 22 years in the NFL with four teams.[5]
Awards and honors
editCherundolo was selected to two NFL All-Star Teams during his playing career.[6][7] He was named second-team All-NFL in three seasons.[3]
In 2007, as part of the team's 75th anniversary commemoration, the Steelers named him as the center on their Legends team. The team represents the best players in the franchise's history through 1970.[8]
Personal life
editCherundolo married Margaret Whitehead; the couple had two children, Patricia and John.[2] Both his son and grandson played football at the Division I level.[9] At the time of his death in 2012, he was the fourth-oldest living professional football player.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Jus' Passes: Cherundolo Does His Talkin' for Steelers with Deeds". Pittsburgh Press. September 1, 1941. p. 11. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Redskins 1965 Press Guide" (PDF). Washington Redskins. 1965. p. 14. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Chuck Cherundolo Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ "1953 Steelers Coaches". SteelersUK.com. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Chuck Cherundolo Goes To Redskins". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 23, 1964. p. 26. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "1941 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ "1942 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ "Steelers Announce Legends Team as Part of 75th Season Celebration Twenty-Four Honored as Best Pre-1970's Players in Club History". Steelers.com. October 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- ^ "Hon. John C. Cherundolo (profile)". Syracuse University. Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Chuck Cherundolo, Old Forge native and former NFL star, dies at age 96". Scranton Times-Tribune. Times-Shamrock Communications. December 27, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2012.