Charles Comerford

Charles Aloysius Comerford (May 12, 1894 – July 24, 1962) was an American college football player. He played at the end position at Yale University and selected as a first-team All-American in 1916.

Charles Comerford

Yale Bulldogs
Position	End
Personal information
Born:	(1894-05-12)May 12, 1894 Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died:	July 24, 1962(1962-07-24) (aged 68) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Career history
College	Yale (1916)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (1916)

Early years

Comerford was born in 1894 in Brookline, Massachusetts.^[1] His father, James Comerford, was a Brookline police officer and an immigrant from Ireland.^[2] Comerford attended the Brookline schools and Phillips Exeter Academy.^[1]

Yale

Comerford played at the end position for Yale University and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1916 by the International News Service and The Boston Post.^[3][4] The Norwich Bulletin in December 1916 wrote:

Comerford has starred throughout the season for the Blue eleven. He is a deadly tackler and has a good power f sizing up attacks. Comerford is quite adopted to the handling of the forward pass. Comerford in the Harvard game was at his best and it will be remembered of his speed in getting down underneath punts.^[5]

In 1917, Comerford enlisted in a Vermont regiment of the American Expeditionary Forces, serving in France during World War I.^[2] He served in France until February 1919.^[6]

In 1919, after returning from France, Comerford returned to Yale as a pitcher for the baseball team and as an assistant football coach.^[7][8] He continued to be an assistant football coach at Yale at least through the 1922 season.^[9]

Later years

Comerford worked as an adjudicator for the Veterans Administration in Boston.^[1] His wife was the president of the League of Catholic Women in Boston.^[10] He died in 1962 at age 68 at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[1]

References

1. "Charles Comerford, Adjudicator at VA, Ex-Football Coach". The Boston Globe. July 25, 1962. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Patrolman Comerford of Brookline Dead". The Boston Globe. October 30, 1917. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Jack Velock (December 4, 1916). "Have Hard Job Selecting All-American Team". Lima Times Democrat.
4. "Here's All-American Eleven for 1916". The Times (Hammond, IN). December 5, 1916.
5. "All-American Football Team". Norwich Bulletin. December 2, 1916. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
6. US Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939. Charles A. Comerford of Brookline, Mass., departed from Marseille, France, on February 10, 1919.
7. "Comerford Joins Coaches at Yale: Former 'Varsity End Added to Football Advisory Board -- Team Tries New Plays". The New York Times. October 7, 1919 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Charlie Comerford Goes Back To Yale". The Boston Globe. April 4, 1919. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Will Coach Yale Ends: Comerford to Assist Jones on Grid-Iron Again Next Season". The New York Times. March 29, 1922. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Catholic Women's League President Tells How Children Help Her Carry on". The Boston Globe. May 20, 1951. p. 16A – via Newspapers.com.