Godlove Orth Dietz (August 17, 1872 – March 23, 1929) 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 ...

player, coach, lawyer, and judge. He served as the head football coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

in 1902 and Kansas State Agricultural College—now known as

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

—in 1903, compiling a career

record of 7–7–2.

Playing career

Dietz graduated from the Grand Prairie Seminary in

Onarga, Illinois Onarga is a village in Onarga Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,368 at the 2010 census, down from 1,438 at the 2000 census. Geography Onarga is located in western Iroquois County at (40.715432, -88.00692 ...

. Dietz then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, which was affiliated with the seminary. At Northwestern, Dietz played as a

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...

for four seasons for 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 ...

. Also starting on the team during three of these years was Dietz's brother, Cyrus E. Dietz. G. O. Dietz graduated from Northwestern with a law degree, and was a member of the

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership soc ...

fraternity along with his brother Cyrus.

Coaching career

Drake

Dietz got his first head coaching job as the sixth head football coach at

located in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

for the 1902 season. His record at Drake was 4–3–1. The last game of his season at Drake would provide his career coaching highlight with at 47–0 pounding over

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

on November 26, 1902.

Kansas State

The next year, Dietz was named the eighth head football coach for the Kansas State Wildcats in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...

for the 1903 season, succeeding his brother Cyrus in the job. His record at Kansas State was 3–4–1.

Legal career

Dietz and his brother subsequently went into the practice of law together, opening a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

, with Burton Peek. In the 1920s, Dietz served as a judge on the Moline City Court.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietz, G. O. 1872 births 1929 deaths 19th-century players of American football Drake Bulldogs football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Illinois state court judges Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Iroquois County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois