42nd Hall of Fame Induction - Graber Associates

JACK FARRELL ’50Football and Baseball2010 INDUCTEEFor as long as he can remember,Jackie Farrell wanted to be a collegefootball player. He got his wish, letteringfor four years at BostonCollege and playing both ways, athalfback on offense and as a defensiveback.But like many members of theGreatest Generation, Jack was a“delayed vocation” on the gridiron.Four years of service in World War IIcame first. He received his highschool diploma in February of 1942,enlisted in the Navy, and spentalmost four years away from organizedsports.Jack grew up on the hill overlookingBillings Field in West Roxbury, wherehe’d play CYO football in the fall,hockey in the winter, and baseballevery spring and summer. He enrolled atBoston English High and played for BostonCollege Hall of Famer Bill Ohrenberger, athree-sport coach and mentor who, as Jackputs it,“Watched us all like a hawk. Every kid whoshowed potential, he made sure they movedon to college. Bill is the man who steered meto Boston College. Bill was much more thana coach. He was a mentor to a lot of kids.”Jack looked into Holy Cross and Villanova,but the Eagles were the only ones whooffered him a scholarship. He enrolled in thesummer of 1946, fresh off his service as aNavy signalman on a destroyer, the USSCowie. The ship was deployed in both theEuropean theater and the Pacific, and sawaction in the island campaigns during theclosing months of the war.Lest anyone think that Boston College wasnot a big-time program in those days, theschedule included Oklahoma, LSU,Mississippi, Wake Forest, Kansas State, andTennessee, among others. Many of Farrell’steam mates went on to play professional ball.Freshmen were eligible for varsity play inthose days, and Jack stepped right onto theteam. He lettered for four years in footballand as an outfielder for Freddy Maguire’sbaseball team. On the diamond, he was especiallyproficient at defense and was always athreat to steal bases. But on the footballfield, as he modestly puts it, “I was a jack ofall trades and master of none.”Jack has fond memories of Eddie Doherty,the former Eagle quarterback who coachedthe backfield that included such luminariesJack and Elizabeth Farrell with grandchildren Ryan, Shea and Jakeas Butch Songin, who later played for thePatriots, and Al “Crazy Legs” Cannava, whowent on to play at Green Bay.Other than having to lose some weight andget back into shape as a 20-year old freshman,Jack doesn’t recall any difficulty inadjusting to the football life after an absenceof four years. There was never any doubt inhis mind that he’d first fulfill his dream ofplaying college ball.“It was big time football. Each of the coachestook a real interest in the individual playersand they taught us a lot. The stances,how to block, how to tackle…it was likemoving to the majors after playing in theminor leagues,” said Farrell.As with many two-way athletes of his era,the contributions that Jack Farrell made tothe success of the team are not always quantifiedby statistics and numbers. Football wasvery much a ground game, and the need toplay two ways dictated that players be smallerand more versatile than they are nowadays.Though Jack had good speed and was effectiveon sweeps, he spent much of his timeblocking for the likes of Cannava, JoeDiminick, Maury Poissant, and Vic Palladino.Statistical summaries for that time show thatJack averaged 3.5 yards per carry in hisjunior season and 4.25 as a sophomore.Though individual defensive records forthose years have been lost, Jack had the reputationas an interception threat. His speedand agility made him a valuable defender inthe secondary.The combined record for Jack’s footballteams was 20-13-3. One of themost-remembered games was the finalone of his career, a 76-0 conquest ofarchrival Holy Cross before a capacitycrowd in Fenway Park. Jack scoredone of the Eagles’ touchdowns thatday.After graduation, Jack embarked on alaw enforcement career and joined theFBI. He worked in criminal investigationsand in background checking onthe civil side, seeing service in theBureau’s offices in California,Kentucky, and New York.After six years with the Bureau, hecame home and connected up withEddie Barry, a former Boston Bruinsand Boston Olympics goaltender.Eddie and Jack are still together, morethan 50 years later, at the Barry and FarrellInsurance Agency in Needham.Jack and his wife, the former ElizabethKelley, had three sons. Bill, who graduatedfrom UNH in 1988, captained the Wildcats’football team, and is now working for theMassachusetts Court System. Mike graduatedfrom Roger Williams College in 1990 andis in business with his father at Barry &Farrell. John, a self-employed electrician,graduated from Westfield State in 1998.Mrs. Farrell, who is now deceased, taughtschool for many years.Jack is still active in his beloved sport offootball. He has been involved with theGridiron Club of Greater Boston for manyyears as a member of its evaluation andselection committee for the prestigiousawards such as the Bulger Lowe Award andthe Swede Nelson Award. He also has beena leader of the Class of 1950’s alumni activitiesat Boston College. In 1975, his class’sSilver Anniversary year, Jack was co-chairmanof the gift committee. They raised aclass gift which, to that point in BC history,surpassed all others.Like many numerical records, both in dollarlevels of class giving and in such categoriesas yards gained, points scored, and passesintercepted on football fields, that mark wassoon eclipsed. But what can never be surpassedwas the overall record of achievementof the men and women of Jack Farrell’sera, who preserved and defended the countryin war time and went on to build theworld’s most prosperous and successfulnation.13