Daniel P. Boisture Jr. (February 22, 1925 – May 18, 2007) 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 wi ...

coach. He was the head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles football team from 1967 to 1973, compiling a record of 45–20–3. Boisture was a star athlete in high school, playing both basketball and football at Detroit Holy Redeemer. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in the Pacific Theater 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 opposing ...

, and was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa, for which he was awarded a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. After returning home, he was recruited as a basketball player by Notre Dame, but instead attended the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

, where he lettered four times in football as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

, and twice in basketball. In 1949, Boisture helped the University of Detroit football team win the Missouri Valley Conference championship in the school's first year in the conference. Boisture began his coaching career as a high school football coach at Dearborn St. Alphonsus High School and Ecorse St. Francis Xavier High School. From 1954 through 1958, he coached at Detroit St. Mary's of Redford High School in the Detroit Catholic League, where his teams accumulated a 37–4–2 record and won the Catholic League championship four of the five years he coached there. In 1959, at the age of 33, he became an assistant coach at Michigan State University, under

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 ...

, where he stayed through the 1966 season. During his time at Michigan State, the team won two national championships, in 1965 and 1966. In July 1967, Boisture was hired as head coach at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. He later commented that he was willing to go to a smaller school, saying, "There weren't many jobs open...Joan and I looked at the campus. It was a cute campus." Under his leadership, the team produced the longest period of sustained success since

Elton Rynearson Elton James Rynearson Sr. (April 7, 1893 – February 8, 1967) was an American athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was affiliated with Eastern Michigan University (known as Michigan State Normal College prior to 1956) for most ...

's days. The team posted winning seasons in all seven years of Boisture's coaching, including a 13-game winning streak that remains a school record. His 1971 squad finished the regular season 7–0–2, only allowing one touchdown in the last five games, before losing to Louisiana Tech in the Pioneer Bowl, the first bowl trip in school history. Boisture was named NCAA District Four "coach of the year" in 1971. Boisture's tenure at Eastern Michigan is also notable for the construction of

Rynearson Stadium Rynearson Stadium, nicknamed "The Factory", is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. Currently, the stadium has seating for 30,200 people. St ...

. Boisture's teams played their first two seasons at the old field, near the corner of Oakwood and Washtenaw, just west of

McKenny Union McKenny Hall, previously called McKenny Union and Charles McKenny Union, was the first student union on the campus of the Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At various times the building has in ...

. In 1969, the new stadium, which was considered off-campus at the time, opened with a capacity of 15,500. Boisture's bowl-bound 1971 team played for one of the few sellout crowds in the stadium's history, a 0–0 tie against Eastern Kentucky on October 16, 1971, which drew 17,360 spectators. In February 1974, Boisture left Eastern Michigan to coach the

Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League. Founding Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...

, in the Central Division of the World Football League, who also played home games at Rynearson Stadium. After playing a partial 1974 season of 14 games (out of a planned 20-game season), for a 1–13 record, the Wheels folded. Following his experience with the World Football League, Boisture decided to leave coaching. "It was a hardship on the family, moving like we were moving...When the Wheels went defunct, I could have gone with a couple pro teams, and I said, 'That's it.'...I was in a position to continue in pro ball or get something more stable. I made the right choice." He and his family settled in Wyandotte,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and started a marketing firm dealing internationally with military equipment, from which he retired in 1990. Boisture was inducted into Eastern Michigan University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Boisture was the older brother of

Tom Boisture Thomas C. Boisture (March 23, 1931 – March 11, 2011) was an American football high school and college coach, a National Football League (NFL) scout, and the head of player personnel for the New York Giants. Before joining the Giants, Boisture ...

, who played football at Mississippi State University and later coached at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

and the College of the Holy Cross. His grandson, Joe, played quarterback for

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boisture, Dan 1925 births 2007 deaths American football ends American men's basketball players Detroit Titans football players Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball players Detroit Wheels coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches High school football coaches in Michigan United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marines People from Wyandotte, Michigan Players of American football from Detroit