RETIRED JERSEYS & NUMBERS Never again will a Boston College football player wear the number 22 or 68. Those two retired numbers belonged to quarterback Doug Flutie and nose tackle Doug Flutie Mike Ruth, respectively. Flutie won the 1984 Heisman Trophy, given annually by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York to the outstanding college football player in the nation, and the Walter Camp Award, given by the Walter
Seven other former Boston College football players have received the honor of having their jerseys retired — Art Donovan, Bill Flynn, Gene Goodreault, Mike Holovak, Charles O’Rourke, Tony Thurman and Louis Urban. Holovak, O’Rourke, Thurman and Urban were honored in ceremonies on September 12, 1998, as the Eagles beat Rutgers. A four-year letterwinner at end and team captain in 1923, Urban played on Boston College teams that compiled an overall record of 25-7, including the 1920 team that went 8-0 and gave the school its first “Eastern Championship.” He was a consensus firstteam all-America selection in that season. O’Rourke’s Boston College teams compiled a cumulative record of 26-3-2. “Chuckin’ Charlie” helped lead the Eagles to an 11-0 record in 1940, capped by the Sugar Bowl championship and the claim of a national championship. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Holovak’s Boston College teams finished 26-5 and he is known as one of the top running backs in school history. He scored all three Eagle touchdowns in the 1943 Orange Bowl and averaged 15.8 yards per carry in that contest against Alabama. A consensus first-team all-American in 1942, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Thurman was a consensus first team all-America pick in 1984 as a defensive back and still holds the school career records for interceptions in a game (3), season (12) and career (25).
Camp Football Foun-dation of New Haven, Conn., to the nation’s most outstanding player. Ruth was the winner of the 1985 Mike Ruth Outland Trophy, given to the outstanding interior lineman in the nation by the Football Writers Association of America. These two numbers were retired in a ceremony on October 8, 1998, as the Eagles played Virginia Tech.
Flynn, who was honored in ceremonies at 1999’s Miami game, was associated with Boston College athletics for nearly seven decades as a student-athlete, faculty member, coach and director of athletics. He played football at Boston College from 1936-38, serving as team captain in ’38. He also played hockey and became the first Boston College player to score 20 goals in a season. Flynn returned to the University in 1945 as a mathematics teacher and assistant football coach and seven years later became the Alumni Association executive secretary. Flynn was the director of athletics for the Eagles from 1957 to 1990 and during his tenure, Boston College expanded its varsity sports programs and constructed most of its major athletic facilities. Donovan, who was honored at 1999’s Pittsburgh game, was a four-year letterman for the Eagles from 1946-49 and was an outstanding lineman for his teams that went a combined 20-13-3. In the professional ranks, he played on two world championship teams in 12 seasons as a perennial all-pro selection at defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts. He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Goodreault, who was honored at 2001’s Pittsburgh game at Alumni Stadium, was a member of the Boston College football team that won the 1941 Sugar Bowl. He lettered for the Eagles from 1938 to 1940 as an end and was a consensus first-team allAmerica pick in 1940, including a spot on the Walter Camp All-America team team.
Mike Ruth, Gene DeFilippo and Doug Flutie
Luke Urban
William Flynn
Art Donovan
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