Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie was born on October 23, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland and lived for a time as a young child with his grandparents in Manchester, Maryland. When he was six years old, Flutie moved with his parents, Richard and Joan Flutie, and his three siblings to Melbourne, Florida, where he became involved in youth football and baseball. He began playing tackle football at the age of nine, and when he turned twelve years old, he joined the Pop Warner football league. When he was thirteen the family moved to Natick, Massachusetts, where Flutie attended Natick High School.

During his years in high school Flutie, an excellent student, participated in numerous sports. Basketball was his favorite, but by the time he was a senior, it was clear that football was his best. Although his high school football stats garnered the attention of numerous smaller colleges, Flutie wanted to compete at the Division 1-A level, but major universities were hesitant to take him because of his size. At just under five-feet-ten-inches and 175 pounds, Flutie was considered too small to play Division 1-A football. At the last minute, Boston College (BC) offered Flutie its last available scholarship. Even then, the offer was made only after two other prospects chose other schools, and BC found that a slot still needed filling.

As a freshman at Boston in 1981, Flutie, listed as the team's fourth-string quarterback, sat on the sidelines of his first three games. However, in the fourth game of the season, down 38-0 against Penn State and the first string quarterback hurt, the coach called Flutie's number. It was the only opportunity Flutie needed. By the middle of the season, he was team's starting quarterback. During the 1982 season Flutie led the Eagles to their first post-season bowl game in forty years. Although BC lost the Tangerine Bowl to the Auburn Tigers, Flutie was selected as the game's Most Valuable Player. On the season he completed 184 of 386 passing attempts, with fifteen touchdowns. By 1983, Flutie's junior year, BC was gaining national attention, and two BC games were nationally televised.