Dennis Anthony Gildea (October 9, 1898 – February 22, 1976) was an American football player and coach.

Early life and military service

Gildea was born on October 9, 1898, in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

. He enlisted and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

College football

Gildea played

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for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They primarily compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, the ...

from 1920 to 1922. The Crusaders went 17–9 during Gildea's three years on the team. He was elected captain during the 1921 season. “The Iron Major” Frank Cavanaugh rated him as one of the best blockers he ever saw.

Early coaching career

In 1922 and 1923, Gildea served as assistant coach at Fitchburg High School. He then served as head coach at Leominster High School in 1924 and 1925.

NFL

In 1926, played seven games for the Hartford Blues 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 ...

Everett High School

From 1926 to 1954, Gildea was head football coach at Everett High School. He compiled an overall record of 163–72–29. His teams were champions in 1927, 1936, and 1945. Gildea was known as an innovator in high school football. His 1940s teams used the

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a Formation (American football), formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about ...

and he was one of the first coaches to frequently use substitutions and special assignments for certain players. In addition to serving as EHS's football coach, Gildea was also an English teacher, baseball and track and field coach, and from 1945 to 1963 served as athletic director.

Personal life and death

In 1926 Gildea married Ethel K. Barry, a schoolteacher from

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. They had two children, Barry and Dennis, Jr. Barry played football for Everett High and coached football at Holbrook High School,

Lynn English High School Lynn English High School (LEHS) is a public high school located at 50 Goodridge Street in the eastern section of Lynn, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of Lynn Public Schools, and the largest school in the Lynn school system. The name ...

, and Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School. Dennis, Jr. worked as a night manager at a

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

outside of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

. He was one of four men killed in a high-profile robbery there on March 6, 1976. In 1935, Gildea graduated from

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 stud ...

. Gildea died of a stroke on February 22, 1976, in Peabody, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gildea, Dennis 1898 births 1976 deaths Boston College High School alumni Boston College Law School alumni Hartford Blues players High school football coaches in Massachusetts Holy Cross Crusaders football players Massachusetts lawyers Sportspeople from Boston Players of American football from Boston College of the Holy Cross alumni 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War I