Colts defensive tackle
Donovan, 89, who died Sunday of a respiratory ailment at Stella Maris Hospice, played and talked a great game. He was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts and an engaging raconteur at banquets and on TV talk shows. His cherublike face, adenoidal voice and side splitting tales of yore captivated generations of viewers who never saw Donovan collar a quarterback or take down a runner.
"Artie made a career out of telling people everything that he'd done right and wrong in football," said Ordell Braase, his teammate on the field and in the broadcast studio. "The diversity of his appeal was amazing.
"My mom [Dorothy] http://www.texansauthenticofficial.com/Jadeveon_Clowney_Jersey_Texans was with dad to his last breath, as she was determined to be," she said.
Ten times, Donovan appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman," where he spun yarns about his youth in the Bronx, his hitch in the Marines during World War II and his experiences during the sanguinary years of the National Football League, when the game was played by "oversized coal miners and West Texas psychopaths."
Often, his stories were laced with self deprecating humor and some choice four letter words. Like beer, Spam and junk food.
"Dunnie had all of his stories numbered," said Alex Sandusky, a Colts teammate. "Going to games, he'd sit in the last seat on the bus, the widest one. That was our 'story room.' Then he'd say, 'This is number 46 coming up.'
"He was a classic a great, fun loving human being. If they can laugh in heaven, he'll get them going."
Arthur James Donovan Jr. was born in New York City, the son of a famous boxing referee. Arthur Sr., a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, officiated 14 heavyweight title bouts, including a number of Joe Louis' fights.
Donovan's grandfather, Mike Donovan, was a world middleweight champion who also gave boxing lessons to President Theodore Roosevelt. Kevin Pierre-Louis Jersey
But football was Donovan's love. Despite a modest high school career, he received a scholarship to the University of http://www.texansauthenticofficial.com/Jj_Watt_Jersey_Texans Notre Dame in 1942 but left after one semester to join the Marines. Stationed in the Pacific, he served as an anti aircraft gunner aboard the USS San Jacinto during the assault on Leyte in the central Philippines.
After 13 months at sea, Donovan volunteered for the Fleet Marine Force, which landed him in the middle of combat on Okinawa. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame the first pro football player so honored.
"Here a guy that fought in World War II and played with the Baltimore Colts," former Colts wide receiver Raymond Berry said this weekend while attending the Hall of Fame festivities in Canton, Ohio. "I would say, tell me about your World World II service. And [he would say], I got shot in the butt at Okinawa. That was typical Art Donovan."
Donovan's favorite war story? The time on Guam when he swiped a case of Spam, got caught and was ordered to eat it or go to the brig. In nine days, he polished off all 30 pounds of the processed pork.
His go to jokes dealt with food and drink. Donovan Authentic Kevin Norwood Jersey liked to describe himself as a light eater.
"As soon as it's light, I start to eat," he would say.
And: "The only weight I ever lifted weighed 24 ounces. It was a Schlitz. I always replaced my fluids."
At war's end, he returned briefly to Notre Dame, then transferred to Boston College, where he made second team All New England.
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In 1950, the Colts picked Donovan in the third round of a special NFL draft. That team folded at season's end, as did the next two clubs for which he played the New York Yanks and Dallas Texans.
"I helped kill three teams," Donovan said in retrospect.
In 1953, the Colts returned to Baltimore with the crew cut tackle in tow. Women's Justin Britt Jersey He would never leave again.
Strong, smart and surprisingly quick for his size, which ranged from 270 to 300 pounds, Donovan made All NFL for four straight years (1954 1957) and played in five consecutive Pro Bowls (1953 1957).