Furfari At-Large: Chick Donaldson
November 05, 2003 10:03 AM | General
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November 1, 2003
Charles "Chick" Donaldson was one of the most versatile football players West Virginia University ever had.
Besides snapping the ball and blocking, he did some of the punting and place-kicking during the front end of the school's golden era of the 1950s. The Jeannette, Pa., native lettered four years (1951-54) as a center and linebacker.
He also was one of the oldest gridders in college competition. He had served in the Navy and then worked in a steel mill before enrolling at WVU. He was 27 when he received his bachelor's degree in May 1955.
The highlight of Donaldson's career as a player came in 1953 when the Mountaineers went 9-1 and played Georgia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day 1954. It was WVU's first-ever appearance in a major bowl.
"I love these guys," he said in mid-September when members of the '53 team returned for their 50th anniversary reunion. "They're the greatest bunch that's ever been put together. We stayed together and we played together.
"We have remained good friends down through the years. But 20 (of the 49 players) are gone, and we miss them."
Donaldson remained here to help coach the freshmen while studying for a master's degree in 1955-56. Then he spent the next nine years as a full-time assistant coach, serving under both Art "Pappy" Lewis and Gene Corum.
"I coached the centers, linebackers and kickers," he recalled. "And I loved every minute of that. I would have stayed here the rest of my life if they had let me."
Donaldson now lives in Nashville, Tenn., where he remains employed at the age of 76.
"I'm an officer in the Davidson County court system," he explained. "I retired last January 1 after 20 years as a deputy with the sheriff's department. But on May 1 the judge called me and asked that I come back and finish out his term, which will be three more years.
"So I'll be about 80 when I get out of there."
His first job after leaving coaching in 1965 was at Beckley, where he served a year as district manager for a beer brewing company. That firm then transferred him to Nashville, where he eventually left the business.
"I got completely out of it and into working for the goverment as a deputy sheriff," he said. "And I've been at it ever since then."
At WVU Donaldson played behind All-America center Bob Orders for two years before taking over the starting job his last two seasons. He also saw action on defense as a linebacker.
He served as a co-captain of the 1954 team and was a two-time all-Southern Conference first-team selection.
Donaldson did not play high school football. He weighed only 118 pounds, so he served as the team manager. But he tipped the scales at 215 when a WVU senior. He had played some football while in military service.
He was the '54 team's second-leading scorer with 25 points. He tallied two touchdowns in his college career, one on a lateral from All-America tackle Sam Huff after an interception. That gave WVU a 14-10 victory at Virginia.
Donaldson has been back to Morgantown just three times since leaving the state. The first was in 1980 for the dedication of new Mountaineer Field. Then he returned for both the 25- and 50-year reunions of the 1953 team.
He and the former Rachel Naples were already married when Donaldson enrolled at WVU in 1951. They have a son, Randy, 45, and two grandchildren, Andrew, 10, and Joseph, 8.
