Albert Richard Dorow (November 15, 1929 – December 7, 2009) was an American
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
and professionally in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL), and the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL).
Life and career
Dorow, a quarterback, played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
and was All-American in 1951. He was
drafted in the third round of the
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.
This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick de ...
. After serving the required two years in the military, Dorow played for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
during the 1954, 1955, and 1956 seasons, and for the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
in 1957. After being released by the Eagles before the start of the 1958 season, Dorow spent two years in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, playing for Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Toronto. Dorow moved to the AFL for its inaugural season, playing for the New York Titans (forerunner of the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
) in 1960 and 1961, before being traded to the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
for the 1962 season. Dorow injured his arm in the fourth game of the 1962 season and was unable to play again.
Dorow's awards include All American in football for MSU in 1951. Dorow's other accomplishments include leading the AFL in most touchdowns thrown (26) in 1960. Dorow also co-holds the CFL single-game record for sacks with 7, matched by two others.
After leaving professional football, Dorow was a backfield coach for
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists.
Its missio ...
in Michigan for the 1963 and 1964 seasons. He then became an assistant to
Duffy Daugherty
Hugh Duffy Daugherty (September 8, 1915 – September 25, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, compiling a record of 109–69–5. His 1965 and 1966 teams won ...
at Michigan State for the 1965 through 1970 seasons. He was the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
in 1971 and part of the 1972 season.
After football, Dorow worked as a salesman and manager, retiring in 1989.
Dorow died of
bone cancer
A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...
on December 7, 2009.
Former MSU Great Al Dorow Has Died
WILX-TV
WILX-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Onondaga, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Lansing area. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on American Road (near I-96) in Lansing, and i ...
. Retrieved on December 8, 2009.
See also
* List of American Football League players
The following is a list of men who played for the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969).
Players
A
B
C
D
Elbert Dubenion
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Notes
Player notes
1,398 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorow, Al
1929 births
2009 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football quarterbacks
BC Lions players
Buffalo Bills players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches
Hillsdale Chargers football coaches
Michigan State Spartans football coaches
Michigan State Spartans football players
New York Titans (AFL) players
Philadelphia Eagles players
Washington Redskins players
American Football League All-Star players
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Imlay City, Michigan
Sportspeople from Metro Detroit
Players of American football from Michigan
Deaths from bone cancer
Deaths from cancer in Michigan
American Football League players