Charles Goodell

Charles Goodell
Goodell in 1968
United States Senator
from New York
In office
September 10, 1968 – January 3, 1971
Appointed byNelson Rockefeller
Preceded byRobert F. Kennedy
Succeeded byJames L. Buckley
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
May 26, 1959 – September 9, 1968
Preceded byDaniel A. Reed
Succeeded byJames F. Hastings
Constituency43rd district (1959–1963)
38th district (1963–1968)
Personal details
Born
Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr.

(1926-03-16)March 16, 1926
Jamestown, New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 21, 1987(1987-01-21) (aged 60)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Jean Rice
    (m. 1954; div. 1978)
  • (m. 1978)
Children4, including Roger
RelativesAndy Goodell (nephew)
Alma materWilliams College
Yale University

Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr. (March 16, 1926 – January 21, 1987) was an American politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1968 and the United States Senate from 1968 to 1971. In both cases, he took office following the deaths of his predecessors, first in a special election and second as a temporary appointee succeeding Robert F. Kennedy.

He was elected to four full terms in Congress after winning his first race in 1959. He resigned on September 9, 1968 to accept an appointment by governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy caused by the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Having earned the support of both the Republican and Liberal parties in 1970, he lost in a three-way race to Conservative Party candidate James L. Buckley, having split the liberal vote with Democratic Party candidate Richard Ottinger.

Goodell was the father of National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell.