Thomas Joseph Whelan was a professional football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who spent three years in the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner to the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, with the Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

 in 1919 and 1920

1920 NFL season

The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural regular season of the National Football League which was called the American Professional Football Association in 1920 and 1921...

, winning the national championship alongside Jim Thorpe. He then played with the Cleveland Tigers in 1921

1921 NFL season

The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....

. He was also a professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 player in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 for the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, at first base in 1920

1920 in baseball

-Champions:*World Series: Cleveland Indians over Brooklyn Robins -MLB statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:-Negro National League final standings:-East final standings:...

.

Whelan managed to attend the colleges of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

, Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

, Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

, Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

from 1913 until 1920.

He went on to become a coach, athletic director and principal of Lynn English High School, where the academic wing built in the 1990's was named after him. He was married to Mildred, and had five children - Thomas, Mary Jane, Mildred, Robert and William.

Known for his encouraging and positive outlook, he assisted many Lynn English athletes attend college. In this spirit, his many grandchildren maintain an annual scholarship in honor of their grandfather/grandmother, and their parents who all attended Lynn English High School.