About Charles Goodell
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 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 (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell. He won a special election on May 26, 1959, as a Republican to the 86th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Daniel A.
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