William Wilson Donohoe (April 1, 1904 – October 9, 1972), sometimes listed as Bill Donohue, was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. 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 the Carnegie Institute of Technology—now known as

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

—and professionally for the Frankford Yellow Jackets of 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). Donohoe served as head football coach at Saint Francis College—now known as Saint Francis University—in Loretto, Pennsylvania from 1928 to 1929 and at his alma mater, Carnegie Tech, from 1946 to 1948.

Early years

A native of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, he attended Edgewood High School in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

College football

Donohoe played college football as a halfback for

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

from 1924 to 1926. He led the

1926 Carnegie Tech Tartans football team The 1926 Carnegie Tech Tartans football team represented the Carnegie Institute of Technology—now known as Carnegie Mellon University—in the 1926 college football season. The team defeated Notre Dame in a large upset. The game was ranked th ...

to a 7–2 record, including a victory over Notre Dame in a game that was ranked by ESPN as the fourth-greatest upset in college football history. He also led the team to a 14–0 victory over intra-city rival Pitt. On his graduation from Carnegie in June 1927, ''The Pittsburgh Press'' described him as the "real star" of the team and "one of the greatest of all Carnegie backfield men." In 1946, he was selected as the greatest left halfback in the school's history.

Professional football

In July 1927, Donohoe signed to play professional football in the

(NFL) for the Frankford Yellow Jackets. During Frankford's 1927 season, he played appeared in a total of eight NFL games, three as a starter.

Coaching career and military service

After his playing career ended, Donohue coached the sport at Saint Francis College, Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, and St. Mary's High School in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Donohoe served in the army. Donohue returned to Carnegie Tech as head football coach in March 1946. He also served as the school's basketball coach. He resigned from both positions in December 1948. The Carnegie football program won only one game and sustained a 19-game losing streak during Donohoe's three years as head coach.

Later years

Donohoe died in 1972 at age 68 in San Dimas, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donohoe, Bill 1904 births 1972 deaths American football halfbacks Carnegie Mellon Tartans football coaches Carnegie Mellon Tartans football players Carnegie Mellon Tartans men's basketball coaches Frankford Yellow Jackets players Saint Francis Red Flash football coaches High school basketball coaches in Florida High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania High school football coaches in Florida High school football coaches in Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II People from Carnegie, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pittsburgh Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania