Jim Mooney (American football)

Jim Mooney
Born:(1907-09-16)September 16, 1907
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died:August 12, 1944(1944-08-12) (aged 36)
German-occupied France  
Career information
Position(s)Guard, End, Fullback
CollegeGeorgetown
High schoolChicago (IL) Loyola[1]
Career history
As player
1930Newark Tornadoes
1930–1931Brooklyn Dodgers
1933Cincinnati Reds
1934St. Louis Gunners
1935Chicago Cardinals
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-American (1928)
  • Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame (1953)
Career stats
Military career
AllegianceUnited States United States
Service / branchUnited States Army seal U.S. Army
Years of service1943–1945
RankCorporal
Unit110th Infantry Regiment
Battles / warsWorld War II

James L. Mooney Jr. (September 16, 1907 – August 12, 1944) was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL) for the Newark Tornadoes, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Gunners and Chicago Cardinals. Prior to his professional career, Mooney played college football at Georgetown University. In high school, he was a star halfback at Loyola Academy.[2]

After the end of his NFL career, Mooney became a patrolman for the Chicago Police Department, for whom his father worked as a detective, at the Hudson avenue station. He returned to football in 1940 as a coach for the Chicago Gunners;[3] he had also coached the New York Yankees of the American Football League (AFL) in 1937, which included briefly playing in a game that year against the Rochester Tigers before fracturing his left ankle.[4] Mooney also worked as security for the Chicago College All-Star Game.[3]

He reached the rank of corporal while serving in the United States Army during World War II, and was killed in action on August 12, 1944, when he was shot by a sniper in France.[2] His last assignment was with the 110th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. He is buried in Plot D, Row 12, Grave 9 of the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial.[5]

  1. ^ "1909-1957". Loyola Academy. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "James Mooney, Football Star, Killed in Action". Chicago Tribune. August 29, 1944. p. 15. Retrieved November 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Anton, Todd; Nowlin, Bill (November 15, 2013). When Football Went to War. Triumph Books. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-1600788451.
  4. ^ "Rochester wins, 24-0, as Yanks miss Strong". The Boston Globe. AP. October 25, 1937. Retrieved July 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "James L. Mooney Jr". American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved November 2, 2019.