Hall of Fame
Cleo O’Donnell entered Holy Cross in 1904 and played four years of football. He was a standout end and served as team captain during his senior year. In the final game of the 1906 season, O'Donnell scored both of the Crusaders’ touchdowns in a 15–6 win over Fordham.
After he left Holy Cross, he coached at Everett High School from 1909-1915, going 68–8–6 overall. His 1913 team went 13-0 and outscored its opponents 600-0, including an 80-0 victory over Oak Park (Ill.) in the high school national championship game.
O’Donnell then spent two seasons as the head coach at Purdue University (1916-1917), followed by one year as the head coach at Somerville High School (1918).
He returned to Holy Cross as the head football coach from 1919-1929, posting an overall mark of 69-27-5 as head coach. The Crusaders had a winning record in each of his 11 seasons, while posting a 37-8-4 mark from 1922-1926. O’Donnell also served as Holy Cross’ athletic director from 1926-1935, and later had a 27-11-1 record as the head coach at St. Anselm from 1935-1940. He passed away in 1953.
