Charles D. Rafferty

Charles Donnelly Rafferty (August 17, 1879 – October 27, 1949) was an All-American football player and coach. He played at the end position for the Yale Bulldogs football team from 1900 to 1903, was captain of Yale's 1903 football team, and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1903. He also served as the head coach of the Yale football team in 1904, leading the team to a record of 10–1. Early years Rafferty was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in August 1879. He was the son of Gilbert Thomas Rafferty and Harriett Martin Oliver. He attended preparatory school at Andover. He played two years at the end position for Andover's football team. Yale He subsequently enrolled at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School. While attending Yale, he played for the Yale Bulldogs football team from 1900 to 1903. The Yale football team during Rafferty's first season in 1900, included star quarterback Jim Wear of St. Louis, whose sister, Lucretia Wear, married George Herbert Walker, investment banker, and later father-in-law of Senator Prescott Bush. "Charley" Rafferty played at the end position for Yale as a substitute in 1900 and 1901 and as a starter in 1902 and 1903. However, he did not play the full season during his junior year due to a condition in his academic studies. In February 1903, he was elected by his teammates as the captain of Yale's 1903 football team. He was also selected in 1903 as a consensus first-team All-American at the end position by Walter Camp for Collier's Weekly, Caspar Whitney, for Outing magazine, Fielding H. Yost, and Charles Chadwick. After graduating from Yale in 1904, Rafferty returned in the fall of 1904 as the head coach of Yale's football team with Walter Camp serving as the general advisory coach. He led the team to a record of 10–1–0 in his one season as head coach.