Edward A. Doherty (July 25, 1918 – January 2, 2000) 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 ...

player and coach. He served as head football coach at Arizona State University (1947–1950), the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

(1951), the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

(1957–1958),

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

(1959–1961), and the College of the Holy Cross (1971–1975), compiling a career college football record of 67–83–3. He is the only person to serve as head coach for in-state rivals Arizona and Arizona State.

Playing career

Doherty played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

at Boston College from 1941 to 1943. He was nicknamed "The Brain" for his innovative style. When most of the Boston College coaching staff left for military duty in 1943, Doherty, then a senior, was a finalist for the job of head coach. The job would eventually go to line coach

Moody Sarno Amerino J. "Moody" Sarno (September 21, 1914 – November 9, 1997) was an American football player and coach. An All-American at Fordham University, he played on the same offensive line as future Pro Football Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi. On Ma ...

. Doherty was drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the fifth round (39th overall) of the

1944 NFL Draft The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli. Player selections Round ...

, but instead joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Coaching career

After one season as an assistant at Notre Dame in 1946, Doherty became head coach at Arizona State, where he compiled a 25–17 record from 1947 to 1950. He left after ASU five days after defeating rival Arizona, 47–13, because he felt that he didn't have enough job security. In 1951, he coached at Rhode Island on a temporary basis after head coach Hal Kopp was called to Army active duty. He compiled a 3–5 record in his only season as coach. From 1952 to 1954, Doherty coached high school football at Punchard High School (1952) and Lawrence High School in Massachusetts (1953–1954). He returned to college football in 1957 after one season as an assistant with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. From 1957 to 1958, Doherty coached at Arizona, where he compiled a 4–15–1 record. Unlikely to be brought back for a third season, Doherty resigned and became head coach of

. After two years out of the game, Doherty returned to coaching in 1964 as the head coach of

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. From 1965-1970 he was head coach at St. Mary's High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. From 1967 to 1969, Doherty coached St. Mary's to three straight state championship games, winning in 1967 and 1968. From 1971 to 1975, he coached at Holy Cross, where he compiled a 20–31–2 record. After leaving Holy Cross, Doherty returned to Arizona, where he coached

Salpointe Catholic High School Salpointe Catholic High School is a co-ed Catholic high school in Tucson, Arizona run by the Carmelite Order. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. History Salpointe Catholic High School is named for Arizona's first Bishop, Jean ...

from 1978 to 1982 and was the school's athletic director until 1990. He coached the Lancers to the 1981 state championship game.

Honors

In 1991, Salpointe Catholic named their new stadium in honor of Doherty. The

Active 20-30 Club Active 20-30 International is an international service club focused on helping children and developing leadership skills in younger adults ages 20–39. In the United States and Canada, the organization is called the Active 20-30 Club and has ove ...

s of Arizona also honored Doherty by naming their high school football player of the year trophy the Ed Doherty Award.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Edward 1918 births 2000 deaths American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Boston College Eagles football players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Rhode Island Rams football coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches Xavier Musketeers football coaches High school football coaches in Arizona High school football coaches in California High school football coaches in Massachusetts People from Andover, Massachusetts Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona United States Navy personnel of World War II Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts