Member Biography

It was the final game of the 1919 season and coach Bob Zuppke's Illinois eleven needed a victory over Ohio State to capture the Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes were leading, 7-6, as the game entered its final minute. Zuppke wanted quick results, so he went to his strength - the gum - palmed hands of sophomore receiver Chuck Carney. The Illini coach instructed quarterback Larry Walquist to bombard passes in Carney`s direction, and the sure-fingered end wasted little time moving his team into field goal range at the Ohio State 22 yard line. From there, Bobby Fletcher, who had never kicked a college field goal before, hit a three-pointer that gave the Illini a 9-7 victory and the title. Zuppke was lavish in his praise of Carney, a tall and slender flanker who won All- America honors in 1920. An unusual athlete, Carney also won All-America laurels in basketball, and his Big Ten scoring record in that sport stood for 20 years after his graduation. After leaving Illinois, Carney served as end coach at Northwestern, Wisconsin and Harvard before entering the investment banking business as a New York Stock Exchange representative for the firm of Dominick and Dominick.