Bernard O'Rourke

For the Irish politician, see Bernard Brian O'Rourke.

Bernard O'Rourke

Date of birth	March 1886
Place of birth	Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Date of death	June 12, 1941(1941-06-12) (aged 55)
Place of death	Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)	Guard
US college	Cornell University
Career history
As player
1908	Cornell
Career highlights and awards
Consensus All-American (1908) Second-team All-American (1907)

Bernard John O'Rourke (March 1886 – June 12, 1941) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Cornell University and was a consensus first-team selection to the 1908 College Football All-America Team.

O'Rourke was born in 1886 and raised in Syracuse, New York. He attended Cornell University from 1907 to 1909 and played on the Cornell Big Red football team. He was selected as a consensus first-team guard on the 1908 College Football All-America Team.^[1] While attending Cornell, he was a member of and Dunstan,^[2] Aleph Samach,^[3] and Rod and Bob.^[4]

After graduating from Cornell, he coached the Cornell football team for three years and also coached the football team at Johns Hopkins University.^[5]

After World War I, O'Rourke moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he lived for the rest of his life and was married to Medora Altemus. He operated a contracting firm with his brother and, in 1935, became the Works Progress Administration administrator for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He also worked as superintendent of the Montgomery County highways and as postmaster of Norristown. He died in Norristown in June 1941, aged 55.^[5]

References

1. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
2. 1908 Cornellian (Cornell yearbook), page 343, listing Bernard John O'Rourke.
3. 1909 Cornellian (Cornell yearbook), page 361, listing Bernard John O'Rourke.
4. 1910 Cornellian (Cornell yearbook), page 367, listing Bernard John O'Rourke.
5. "Bernard J. O'Rourke, Ex-Cornell Athlete: Once Was Football Coach There -- Postmaster at Norristown, Pa". The New York Times. June 1941.