Dale Fike Dodrill (February 7, 1926 – January 18, 2019) 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 with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who played nine seasons for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He attended Colorado A&M, now known as

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Early life

Dodrill was born to George Dodrill and Lettie (Fike) Dodrill on February 27, 1926 in

Stockton, Kansas Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Rooks County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,480. History 19th century Stockton was founded in 1872. A large share of the first settlers were cat ...

. The family farmed in

Rooks County, Kansas Rooks County (standard abbreviation: RO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,919. The county seat is Stockton, and the largest city is Plainville. The county was named for Privat ...

and Dale attended

Plainville, Kansas Plainville is a city in Rooks County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,746. It was named from its setting upon the plains. History Washington Irving Griffin settled along a freight trail in an ar ...

schools. In 1937, the Dodrill family moved to

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

and then to

Loveland, Colorado The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city ...

. In 1942, Dodrill played on the Loveland High School state championship football team. Dodrill was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

right out of high school, serving in the 30th Infantry Division during

World War II 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 ...

. Dodrill’s brother Garrett died in a prison camp in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

during the war.

College career

In 1947, Dodrill enrolled at Colorado A&M (Colorado State University) to play football for the Rams. Dodrill played both sides of the ball for the Rams helping the team to its first post season appearance, the 1949 Raisin Bowl. Dodrill was selected All-Skyline Athletic Conference in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was selected to play in the East-West Shrine game in 1949 and the College All-Star game in 1951. In 1952, Dodrill won the Nye Trophy as the most outstanding Colorado State male athlete. Dodrill was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Professional career

Dodrill was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Round 6 of the 1951

NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. During his 9-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dodrill posted career numbers of 10 interceptions and 11 recovered fumbles. One fumble recovery was returned for a touchdown. Dodrill was voted to the

NFL Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

four times (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958) and named First-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

in 1954. In 2007, Dodrill was honored by the Pittsburgh Steelers during their 75th Season Celebration. Dodrill was named to the

Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team The Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team represents the franchise's best players from the pre-1970 era. The team was chosen by a small group of Steeler officials and journalists and presented as a part of the Steelers' 75th season celebration in . Th ...

as one of the Steelers’ best players from the pre-1970 era. Dodrill was inducted into the Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Coaching career

After retiring from pro football, Dodrill coached the Defensive Line for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

from 1960–63 and again in 1966.

Later and personal life

Dodrill married Janette Briggs on February 28, 1954. The couple has three sons, Garrett, Michael and David. In 1961, Dodrill started Dodrill Insurance in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. After building a successful business, Dodrill sold Dodrill Insurance to his sons in 1991. Michael died in 1964 and Janette in 2015.

References

External links

CSU football legend saw the horrors of World War IIDale Dodrill, Steelers Defensive Tackle, 1951-1959Dale Dodrill's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodrill, Dale 1926 births 2019 deaths American football defensive linemen Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Colorado State Rams football players Denver Broncos coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players People from Stockton, Kansas People from Rooks County, Kansas United States Army personnel of World War II