A 1907 graduate of Dayton's St. Mary's Institute (the forerunner to the University of Dayton), Charles Whalen studied law for three years at Georgetown, playing two years on the varsity basketball team. Whalen saw most of his action in the 1911-12 season, playing in 15 games with a 3.4 points per game average.

Following graduation, Whalen returned to Ohio and served as an executive for a Dayton-based clothing business. An active alumnus at his undergraduate alma mater, he served a number of terms on the board of the University of Dayton Alumni Association. His son, Charles, Jr., graduated from Dayton in 1942 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1979.