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Lee O'Connell, who played on Bradley's 1953-54 team that made it to the 1954 NCAA National Championship game, passed away recently. Lee was inducted into the Bradley Hall of Fame with that 1953-54 team. He was a graduate of Chicago South Shore HS, and made his home in Peoria after graduating from Bradley.
Lee O'Connell's older brother (Tommy) was a pretty famous QB in his day. Tommy O'Connell was an Illinois All State QB at Chicago S Shore(same school as his brother)....2 time defending National Champ Notre Dame & Coach Frank Leahy initially won the recruiting battle for Tommy in the 1948 ND recruiting class...but after a year on the ND Frosh team, Tommy transferred to Illinois.
Tommy O'Connell would lead the Illini to a Big Ten championship & 1952 Rose Bowl victory over Stanford (40-7)...trailing 7-6 at half, the Illini scored 34 second half points to pull away
O'Connell was drafted by the Chicago Bears, but made a name for himself leading the Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship game in 1957...leading the NFL in passing and being selected to the Pro Bowl
In 1960, Tommy O'Connell was the very first starting QB of the new Buffalo Bills in the first season of the AFL
Younger brother Lee was know for his defense as a member of the Bradley Braves 1954 NCAA runner up squad...I did not know that Lee made his home in Peoria
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