Joshua Dallas "Dal" Marvil (October 24, 1910 – March 12, 1977)
[Ancestry.com. Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998 atabase on-line Joshua Dallas Marvil, born 24 Oct 1910 in Delaware, died 12 March 1977 in Broward, FL. Mother's maiden name: Yingling.] 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 at the
tackle position for the
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing fo ...
team and was a consensus first-team All-American in 1931. He played for three
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
championship teams at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, two in football (1930, 1931) and one in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(1930–31). He also served as an assistant football coach at the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
.
Early years
Marvil was raised in
Laurel, Delaware
Laurel is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 3,708 at the time of the 2010 census. Laurel is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. It once hosted the Laurel Blue Hens of the Eas ...
. He played basketball and was a "weight man" for the track team at Laurel High School.
[
]
Northwestern
Marvil 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 tackle position for Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. In 1930, he helped lead the Wildcats football team to a Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
championship and was selected by the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
as a second-team All-Western player. In 1931, he was selected as the team captain, led the Wildcats to their second consecutive Big Ten championship,[ and was a consensus first-team member of the ]1931 College Football All-America Team
The 1931 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1931. The seven selectors recognized by the ...
. Marvil was six feet, three inches, and weighed 233 pounds while playing football at Northwestern.
Marvil was a member of Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...
[ and also played ]basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
at Northwestern. Despite his size, weighing 254 pounds in December 1929, he reportedly "handle his bulk well" on the basketball court. Northwestern's 1931 basketball team won the Big Ten championship and compiled a record of 16-1. The ''Chicago Daily Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...
'' in October 1931 commented on Marvil's weight: "Dal's chassis is of such a roly poly nature that it is very deceptive to his opponents. He has proved conclusively that a boy who looks blubbery may have plenty of muscle and sinew concealed about him."[
]
Later years
In February 1932, Marvil was hired to serve during the 1933 season as the head line coach for the University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
football team. In April 1933, he became engaged to Dorothy Florence Ames of LaGrange, Illinois
''(the barn)''
, nickname =
, motto = ''Tradition & Pride – Moving Forward''
, anthem = ''My La Grange'' by Jimmy Dunne
, image_map = File:Cook County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Grange Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 26 ...
, who he met while attending Northwestern. As of 1946, he was the president of the "N Men's club."
Marvil died in Broward County, Florida
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
, on March 12, 1977, at the age of 66.[Death record for Joshua Dallas Marvil, born October 24, 1910, in Delaware, died March 12, 1977, Broward, Florida. Ancestry.com. Florida, Death Index, 1877-1998 atabase on-line]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marvil, Dallas
1910 births
1977 deaths
American football tackles
Northwestern Wildcats football players
San Francisco Dons football coaches
All-American college football players
People from Laurel, Delaware
Players of American football from Delaware