The Boston College Gridiron Club commissioned the trophy to honor the relationship between Clemson and Boston College that began , in early 1940, and to recognize the support of Tiger fans in welcoming Boston College to the
ACC, which BC joined in
2005. The trophy features two
leather helmet replicas of those used by O’Rourke of
Boston College and McFadden of
Clemson, when they competed against each other in the
1940 Cotton Bowl in
Dallas,
Texas. In addition to the trophy presentation, the Boston College Gridiron Club presents a replica leather helmet to the
MVP of the winning school. The helmet will reflect the colors of the winning team.
Namesakes Charlie O’Rourke led Boston College from the quarterback position to a record in his three years (
1938–
40). One of those three losses was to McFadden and Clemson in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. O'Rourke went on to play quarterback and defensive back for the
Chicago Bears,
Los Angeles Dons, and
Baltimore Colts. After two years as an
NFL coach, he coached at
Massachusetts (1952–59). O’Rourke later served as commissioner of the
Pop Warner League, a national organization of junior football teams. His jersey was retired at Boston College and he was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
Banks McFadden led the Tigers to a 9–1 record in
1939 as the starting quarterback. He was an
All-American in football and
basketball at Clemson. The 1939 football team finished 12th in the
final AP poll (early December), for Clemson’s first top 20 season on record, and the win over Boston College in the Cotton Bowl was Clemson’s first bowl appearance. In the spring of 1939, he led Clemson to the
Southern Conference Basketball championship. McFadden was Clemson’s first inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959. He was the fourth overall pick of the
1940 NFL draft by the
Brooklyn Dodgers. After one year in the NFL and a stint in the
Army Air Corps during
World War II, he returned to Clemson and held coaching positions in football, basketball, and track. McFadden became the first coach in college basketball history to improve his conference wins in five consecutive seasons. ==Game results==