Pigskin Pearls: The 17-Year Ghost of Pat O’Dea

The setup: In 1917, the most famous kicker in the world simply walked off the map. Pat O’Dea, the "Kangaroo Kicker" who once launched a 62-yard drop kick through a Wisconsin blizzard, vanished from his law practice in San Francisco. For nearly two decades, his family and the football world believed he was a casualty of the Great War, perhaps lying in an unmarked grave in France.

The reveal: In 1934, a sportswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle followed a mysterious tip to the tiny timber town of Westwood, California. There, he found a respected local businessman and lumber statistician named Charles J. Mitchell. After hours of questioning, the man finally cracked: "I am Pat O’Dea."

The motive: Why did he do it? O’Dea explained that he was simply "tired of the football fame." As Pat O'Dea, he felt he was nothing more than a "star ex-athlete" and could never be taken seriously as a lawyer or a citizen. He adopted his mother’s maiden name, Mitchell, and spent 17 years living a quiet life as a bandleader and community official.

The homecoming: When his identity was revealed, O’Dea returned to Madison for the 1934 Homecoming game. To a thunderous ovation from a crowd that had literally mourned him for years, he walked onto the field as a living ghost. He lived out the rest of his days as himself, finally receiving his Hall of Fame notice just one day before he passed away in 1962 at the age of 90.

The Mystery of Charles J. Mitchell