Sport(s) Football, basketball 1920–1935 Cornell Positions End, Quarterback 1917–1919 Navy | 1908–1916 Washington Role American football player 1900–1902 Minnesota Name Gil Dobie | |
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Born January 21, 1879
Hastings, Minnesota ( 1879-01-21 ) 1906–1907 North Dakota Agricultural Died December 23, 1948, Hartford, Connecticut, United States | ||
Education University of Minnesota | ||
Gilmour "Gloomy Gil" Dobie (January 21, 1879 – December 23, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—now North Dakota State University (1906–1907), the University of Washington (1908–1916), the United States Naval Academy (1917–1919), Cornell University (1920–1935), and Boston College (1936–1938), compiling a career college football record of 182–45–15. Dobie's Cornell teams of 1921, 1922 and 1923 have been recognized as national champions. Dobie was also the head basketball coach at North Dakota Agricultural for two seasons from 1906 to 1908, tallying a mark of 17–5. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1951. Dobie reached 100 career wins in 108 games, which stood as the NCAA record for the fewest games needed to reach 100 wins from 1921 to 2014.
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Early life and playing career
Dobie was born in Hastings, Minnesota. He played football as an end and quarterback at the University of Minnesota.
Coaching career
Dobie achieved his greatest success at the University of Washington, where he had a remarkable 58–0–3 record. During his tenure, Washington had a 40-game winning streak, which is the second longest in NCAA Division I-A/FBS history. His coaching career at Washington also comprised virtually all of Washington's 64-game unbeaten streak — still a college football record.
Dobie then became the 16th head coach for the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen and held that position for three seasons, from 1917 to 1919. His coaching record at the Navy was 18–3. This ranks him 14th at the Navy in total wins and first at Navy in winning percentage (.857), as of the end of the 2007 season.
After coaching at Navy, Dobie won three national championships with Cornell, in 1921, 1922, and 1923 with Eddie Kaw and George Pfann. After his first season, he signed a five-year contract. During his first championship season at Cornell, he collected his 100th career win, doing so in 108 games—an NCAA record that stood until 2014, when Lance Leipold reached the mark in his 106th game at Division III Wisconsin–Whitewater. Dobie remains the fastest coach to 100 wins in major-college history. His career coaching record was 182 wins, 45 losses, and 15 ties, a .780 percentage. Of the 33 years he coached, he had 14 undefeated seasons.
At Boston College at least, the best play of the Dobie system was a smash through tackle. Dobie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member.
