Eddie Keenan

Edward Felix Keenan (October 30, 1894 – January 28, 1984) was an American football guard who played one season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Hartford Blues. He played college football at Washington College. Weighing 320 pounds, Keenan was the largest person in the game at the time. He attended Waterbury High School. While at the camp, Keenan played on their military service football team under coach Percy Haughton. "I was the biggest guy in college ball," he later recalled, "and not by a little bit. I weighed 240 pounds. Next guy to me, fella from Georgetown, weighed about 210."

In Washington's 1921 game against , it was reportedly through the work of Keenan that Washington was able to tie (0–0) Western Maryland, who averaged over 20 pounds more per-player than the former. A staff journalist for The Baltimore Sun wrote after the game, "That the Chestertown (Washington) line was able to hold the Green and Gold eleven (Western Maryland) while outweighed 20 pounds to the man was largely due to the efforts of big Eddie Keenan, who time after time piled up the plays directed at the center of the line." A report stated "Keenan was the mainstay of a weak team all season. He was never outplayed and earns his place [on the All-Maryland team] by a wide margin."

By the start of the 1922 season, Keenan had reached 297 pounds. By comparison, the four other Washington linemen averaged 170 pounds each. In addition to playing guard, he was also sometimes used as a running back, making a 20-yard rush as well as several first down carries in the loss to St. John's. A report in the paper stated the following, "Keenan once again proved the mainstay of the Washington College forward combination. Not once during the season was he outplayed, and he earns a place on the first team [All-Maryland squad] by a wide margin ... Besides playing an aggressive and heady game on defense and a driving offensive game, Keenan was of other value to [Tom] Kibler (Washington coach). It was he who drove through the Johnnies' line for the gains that gave Cavanaugh his opportunity to drop-kick for the points that gave the Maroon and Black the lead in the final quarter of the game at Annapolis. On one or two other occasions during the year he was brought behind the line to carry the ball for the Eastern Shoremen." As a result, he was not named to either the first or second-team All-Maryland team by The Baltimore Sun. A September 1924 article from The Evening Sun wrote the following, "There is something besides a joke in the playing of Ed Keenan, the big linesman. Keenan probably is the biggest man playing football today. The jokesters said he was big enough to play guard and tackle both. So he is. Another jokester said Washington College's plays were all around Keenan. They had to be. He's a big boy, and a flank attack is the best strategy. But seriously, while Keenan isn't at all fast, he is a powerful lineman, and he smashed up many a play Saturday. He even made some good tackles, once he gets in reach of a play, look out. Don't run any plays at Keenan. Keep them away from him." Keenan played his final season of college football in 1925 and had reached 320 pounds in weight, but despite his size, was not "the slowest man in the world by any means."

Throughout his career, Keenan was considered an "outstanding guard."

Keenan was officially signed by the Blues on September 14, and an article in the Hartford Courant wrote afterwards, "Hartford's professional Blues yesterday made room–plenty of room–for the largest man now playing football, Eddie Keenan the little 320 pound guard from Waterbury ... Eddie's arrival on the field without a uniform caused something of a riot and the soldiers went so far as to produce pup tents, all of which were too light for him ... The arrival of Keenan was a big thing in many ways."

The first Hartford football practices had Keenan as the starting left guard. The season began with an exhibition against the Brooklyn Naval Hospital on September 19, which the Blues won 33–7. He started the game as backup to Jack Bonadies, and later came in as a substitute for the latter, before being replaced by Ralph Nichols after playing for about 25 minutes.

In the Hartford practices held up to their regular season opener, Keenan played as the first-team guard. The regular season for Hartford began on September 26, as they faced the New York Giants in their first-ever game of NFL play.

On October 1, the Blues traveled to Philadelphia, for their game with the Frankford Yellow Jackets on October 2.

This image of Keenan ran in the Hartford Courant with the caption "Football's Big Boy"

On October 8, an article ran in The Standard Union which said the following, "Two strange characters are carried by the Hartford Blues ... One is Eddie Keenan, of Waterbury, Conn., formerly in the line at Washington College, who weighs–and confesses to it–320 complete pounds. Eddie plays guard, and when he is in there–which is most of the time–one side of the line is invisible to the other side of the field. He is a very big man, but moves about with a surprising agility. Eddie is said to be the largest human in the game to-day."

After cancelling a game with the Columbus Tigers scheduled for October 9, the Blues traveled to New York City to play the Brooklyn Lions at Ebbets Field on October 10. Before just 1,000 fans, the Blues lost their fourth straight game 0–6. Keenan was the starting left guard, with Mule Werwaiss taking his spot at right guard. Less than 1,000 fans showed up for the game, which was played in a cold rainstorm. Dilly Dally later came into the match as a substitute for Keenan, and Keenan shortly afterwards came back as a substitute for Dally. Just 500 fans showed up to attend the contest, which was played in pouring rain. Keenan started at right guard in the match, and was described as "showing special courage in struggling through to down carries although he always went under the heap, with his face shoved many inches into the mire."

On November 14, the Blues played the Buffalo Rangers, but lost 7–13. Keenan remained as starting right guard for the match. Despite the Blues cutting several veteran players prior to their matchup with the Triangles, Joe Santone, an Italian playing in one of his two professional matches, came in as a substitute for Keenan mid-game. The following day, the Blues played the All-New Britain team before 6,000 fans. Two more games were scheduled, against the Pottsville Maroons and Providence Steamrollers, but both were canceled. He was one of only two Blues to appear in all ten games, and the only lineman.

At the beginning of the 1927 football season, on October 14, Hartford, renamed the Giants, released Keenan. The Hartford Courant reported, "Eddie Keenan, the biggest football player in this state, was released last night by the Hartford Giants. Eddie's huge bulk was not necessary in the style of play which Coach Dave Hayes is developing and as the Giants have three running tackles in Sullivan, Connelly and Ike Wooley."

In October 1928, Keenan played briefly with All-Torrington, reuniting him with several former Hartford teammates. He later joined the Nutmeg Athletic Club in November.

Later life and death Keenan remained an avid fan of football after his playing days. He often traveled by airplane across the country to watch the most important college and professional games of the week. After each season, Keenan selected his own College Football All-America Team, based mostly on his evaluation of games he had seen.

Keenan recalled his experiences in 1920s football through an interview with The Evening Sun in 1973, saying that the modern game "only slightly resembles what we played then."

In 1981, Keenan was inducted into the Washington College Sports Hall of Fame. He died three years later, on January 28, 1984, at the age of 89.