Douglas Dashiell (July 14, 1905 – April 21, 1975) was an American

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 ...

coach and

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

officer. He served as the head coach at the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

from 1936 to 1938. He amassed an 8–13–1 record during his tenure.

Coaching career

Dashiell was born on July 14, 1905, and attended

Las Vegas High School Las Vegas High School is a public high school in Sunrise Manor, Nevada, part of the Clark County School District. It is the oldest high school in Las Vegas and originally opened in 1905 on what was then the outskirts of town. The school's first c ...

. He attended college at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin. Founded in 1875 from four existing colleges, the oldest of ...

, where he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

.Nevada Coach Quits On Eve Of C.O.P. Game
''Lodi News-Sentinel'', October 27, 1938. In December 1935, the

hired Dashiell as the head coach of its football team.Dashiell New Nevada Coach
''Christian Science Monitor'', December 18, 1935. He held that post from 1936 through 1938 and amassed an 8–13–1 record. Through his first two seasons, Nevada recorded a 6–10 mark. During the 1938 season, the Wolf Pack amassed a 2–2–1 record with one game remaining against the

College of the Pacific College of the Pacific is the liberal arts core of the University of the Pacific and offers degrees in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the fine and performing arts. The College houses 18 academic departments in addition to ...

. Dashiell resigned on the eve of that game, October 27, 1938, bowing to pressure from an "open rebellion" amongst the student body. Forty football players, the team manager, and student president had signed a petition for the ouster of Dashiell, line coach Duane Keller, and athletic director J. E. Martie. The group stated:

"Our complaint against Martie is that he has refused to provide us with the proper equipment, that he is disrupting the whole athletic setup and that no football coach can hope to succeed so long as Martie is director of athletics ... So far as Doug Dashiell and Duane Keller are concerned, we have nothing against them personally. We believe them to be fine men, but we do not believe they know how to coach football. Their stuff will not work for a college team."

The basketball team, however, requested the retention of Martie as its coach.Nevada Coach Ousted
''Berkeley Daily Gazette'', October 25, 1938. The final game against Pacific was "coachless", but led through pre-game practices by veteran tackle Harry Bradley and injured tackle Ray Garamendi. Nevada lost, 51–0. Dashiell remained on the

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

department faculty through the remainder of the school year. In April, Dashiell stated he would not apply "for any position in the newly established Department of Athletics at the University of Nevada." In 1939, he took over as the head football coach at Stockton Junior College, where he served through at least 1940.

After football

During the

Second World War 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 ...

, he served as an officer in the

. On January 1, 1943, he was promoted to the rank of captain while serving as the physical training director for the USAAF West Coast Training Center. After the war, he remained in the reserves, and as of 1955 was the commander of the 9342nd Air Reserve Squadron at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked on the staff of the Veterans Administration Center at

Sawtelle, California Sawtelle is a district in the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California, partially within the West Los Angeles subregion. It was established in 1899 and named after a manager of the Pacific Land Company who was initially responsible fo ...

, from 1946 through 1959. On October 25, 1968, Dashiell suffered a fractured left knee when his wife lost control of a motorized golf cart and crashed into a parked truck on the Keauhou-Kona Golf Course in

Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...

.Irvine Pair Injured in Hawaii
''The Press-Courier'', October 27, 1968. Dashiell died on April 21, 1975, in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

, at the age of 69.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dashiell, Doug 1905 births 1975 deaths United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Junior college football coaches in the United States Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Southwestern Pirates football players Players of American football from Irvine, California Las Vegas High School alumni Sportspeople from the Las Vegas Valley United States Air Force colonels United States Army Air Forces officers United States Air Force reservists Players of American football from Stockton, California Military personnel from California