John Frederick Dugan (May 12, 1933 – March 3, 2018) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played professionally in 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 ...

(NFL) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and

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 ...

. He played college football at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

Early years

After attending Stamford High School, he first enrolled at the

, but left as a sophomore to manage the family restaurant after his father became ill. In 1954, he was recruited by the

where he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

in his first two years, before switching to a two-way

. As a senior, he led the nation and broke the school's receiving record with 37 receptions for 546 yards in seven games (he also punted 28 times for a 32.2-yard average), earning him All-American honors and an invitation to the East–West Shrine Game.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Dugan was selected by the

as a junior in the seventh round (80th overall) of the

1957 NFL Draft The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia. This wa ...

, but didn't join the league until

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Although he saw limited playing time during his first two seasons, he was known for making spectacular catches.

Dallas Cowboys

The

selected Dugan in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft, where along with

Billy Howton William Harris Howton (born July 3, 1930) is a former American football player, an end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and expansion Dallas Cowboys. As a rookie, Howton caught t ...

, became the first wide receivers ever to start for the franchise. That year, he was the second leading receiver on the team (behind

Jim Doran James Robert Doran (August 11, 1927 – June 30, 1994) was a National Football League (NFL) wide receiver for the Detroit Lions (1951–1959) and the Dallas Cowboys (1960–1961). He played college football at Iowa State University. He was ...

), while earning a reputation for spectacular catches and producing 29 receptions for 461 yards and a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. After asking to be traded to be closer to his ailing father, he was sent to the

in a three-team deal on July 5,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

. The Redskins acquired Dugan, placekicker

John Aveni John Patrick Aveni (March 17, 1935 – January 20, 2002) was an American football placekicker and tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Early life Aveni was born in Glassboro, New J ...

, defensive back

Dave Whitsell David A. Whitsell (June 14, 1936 – October 7, 1999) was an American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 196 ...

and

offensive end An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage and ...

Jerry Daniels. The New York Giants obtained

Joe Walton Joseph Frank Walton (December 15, 1935 – August 15, 2021) was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in t ...

and

Jim Podoley James Podoley (September 16, 1933 – January 24, 2010) was an American football halfback and end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Mount Morris, Michigan, he played college football at Central Michigan ...

. The Cowboys received placekicker Allen Green and a sixth round for the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

that the team later used to draft

George Andrie George Joseph Andrie (April 20, 1940 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to his professional career he played college football at Marquett ...

Washington Redskins

Dugan flourished with the Redskins in his first season, breaking the team receiving record and setting career highs with 53 receptions for 817 yards and four

s. In his second season after the Redskins obtained Bobby Mitchell, he had 36 receptions for 466 yards and five touchdowns. He retired following the 1963 season after having 20 receptions for 288 yards. His career totals were 153 receptions for 2,226 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dugan died in March 2018 at the age of 84.John Frederick Dugan Sr. Obituary
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugan, Fred 1933 births 2018 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football ends Dallas Cowboys players Dayton Flyers football players Players of American football from Connecticut San Francisco 49ers players Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut Washington Redskins players Stamford High School (Stamford, Connecticut) alumni