Who Is The Most SuccessFul College Football Coach You've Never heard Of?

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2 ай бұрын

Robert Gilmour Dobie, a prominent yet enigmatic figure in early American college football, had a remarkable coaching career that spanned 33 years with a record of 182 wins, 45 losses, and 15 ties. Notable for his stern demeanor, earning the nickname "Gloomy Gil," Dobie managed to lead his teams to 14 undefeated seasons and didn't suffer a single defeat in his first 11 years as a coach. He won national titles in 1921, 1922, and 1923 and had notable streaks, including 40 consecutive wins and 64 games without a loss. Dobie's coaching prowess led to his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
Dobie's early life was marked by hardship, including the death of both parents at a young age which led to him and his brother being placed in a state school for neglected children. Despite such challenges, he rose to prominence first as a player and then a coach, starting with high school teams before moving to college football.
Dobie’s coaching stints at various institutions, including North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University), Washington, Navy, and Cornell, were highly successful, though not without controversy. His time at Washington ended abruptly following a dispute over a player’s academic misconduct, and at Cornell, he faced challenges adapting to changes in football tactics and recruiting difficulties due to high academic standards.
Despite his reputed pessimistic and blunt personality, Dobie was deeply respected and admired by his players for his fair and just coaching style. His later years in coaching were less victorious, reflecting both the evolving nature of the game and his rigid methodologies.
Gil Dobie passed away in 1948, leaving behind a legacy of coaching success and a complex personal history that highlights both his football genius and his personal struggles. His life and career offer a rich narrative about resilience, leadership, and the transformative power of sports.
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Пікірлер: 41

@HistoryWithCoachT 2 ай бұрын

"If I didn't have so many cripples you'd be sitting the bench" Classic coaching right there lol.

@georgelutes1230 2 ай бұрын

I'd not heard of him until today. Thanks for a very well written and delivered piece.

@patricksullivan4329 2 ай бұрын

When I was 10 years old (19558) I played Little League Baseball in Everett, Washington at Gil Dobie Field.

@kellymcclendon6601 2 ай бұрын

Wow! Im 68 years old and never knew about this coach. Have always been a Bama fan. Bear Bryant must have learned from coach Dobie. Their psychology was very similar. 58 - 0 - 3 at Washington, and still get fired? Insane. Could anyone imagine coach Saban being fired with that record? The Bama fans would have burnt the God damn state of Alabama to the ground. Now, Bama is being run by a coach that just left Washington. Hope coach Deborah's success continues. Great podcast.

@johngorentz6409 2 ай бұрын

I had heard of Dobie from the book, "Sports Laughs," by Herman L. Masin, which I read through about a hundred times when I was young. The line about the backs getting to the tackles too fast is in there, along with a few other Dobie anecdotes. I recently bought a used copy of the book for the nostalgia because the one from my school days had long ago fallen into ruin.

@44032 2 ай бұрын

Dobie hated the forward pass. When Cornell lost to Dartmouth and Swede Oberlander, (kind of the Patrick Mahomes of the 1920's) 62-13, Dobie declared a 13-0 victory, since "The forward pass isn't real football".

@cmm140 2 ай бұрын

Great video. Thank you! Washington fans are definitely aware of Dobie, and what he was able to accomplish. But this was the best deep dive video I’ve seen on him

@royveteto4134 2 ай бұрын

his child hood made me think of 12 mighty orphans about the masonic home for orphans in texas who became a competitive team in texas high school football in the great depression

@jimclark5093 2 ай бұрын

Unfortunately I'd never heard of him before. Thanks fr the great video

@thomaswright8986 2 ай бұрын

Never heard of Coach Dobie but found this report on him very very interesting. Thank you so much for your entire collection of videos on the history of college football.

@terrellhillard3018 2 ай бұрын

I had never heard of Gil Dobie until you introduced us.

@robertgibbons740 Ай бұрын

Thanks for this excellent piece. I knew of him because I went to the University of Washington and I’m a big football fan. Because of him Washington ranks in the top 25 of winning percentage. I believe your huskers are much higher.

@arthurw8054 2 ай бұрын

First I've ever heard of him. Great stuff, thanks!

@royveteto4134 2 ай бұрын

the reason that dobie left the naval academy is similar to why bear bryant left kentucky

@atoz9405 2 ай бұрын

I had not heard of him. Thanks for telling us about him. It was very interesting. I appreciate it

@christophermund5977 2 ай бұрын

I've been hoping for a new episode from you. Thank you and great job!

@cavecookie1 2 ай бұрын

I had never heard of Gloomy Gil. With such a huge personality, and such an astounding record, I wonder how it is even possible that he is so forgotten! Thanks for another great vid!

@Herbcatt1988 2 ай бұрын

Thanks Jon I like this lesson. Also you won’t ever have to tell these history’s from your bathroom like you do with your takes on Husker games. 😂😂 GBR

@frankkoumaros 2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for researching him!!

@huskerchuck9212 2 ай бұрын

I was thinking Mike Leach right before you said his name. When I heard 'Gloomy Gil', I thought...."oh cool! a Gil Dobie video!" Knew about him, but now I know more. When I hear the name Zuppke, I think Illinois. Don't they have a stadium or field or something named after him? Outstanding job on the research! Can't wait for the next one! (but I guess I'll have to)

@CollegeFootballHistory 2 ай бұрын

I'll try to get these out on a more reasonable time frame.

@huskerchuck9212 2 ай бұрын

@@CollegeFootballHistory I didn't mean it to sound like "hurry up", more like the dog whining to get in....LOL

@dug5426 2 ай бұрын

never heard of him thanks for the video excellent entry

@majdan63 2 ай бұрын

Not heard of Gil Dobie? Do you think I was raised under a rock by wolves? Go- Huskies.

@CollegeFootballHistory 2 ай бұрын

I've heard strange things about you Washington people! 😀

@howardraymonddobin9902 2 ай бұрын

Never heard of him. I would have remembered. His last name being similar to mine except for the final letter.

@44032 2 ай бұрын

Dobie was a great coach and could not have been so successful at multiple schools if he were the ogre he's often depicted as. He brings to mind Bobby Knight, who got a lot out of his players for many years and could not have if he was just a bully or Ty Cobb who has so often been described as a great player who was a reprehensible human being but, per what has been published in recent years was not nearly that bad. It's just that the image is more interesting to write about. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Dobie's record at Washington is factual but strains credibility: 9 consecutive undefeated seasons. What has to be realized is that the Huskies never played anyone outside of the northwest area, (until they started playing California, who had just taken up the sport after playing rugby, in 1915), that their schedule consisted of high school teams, athletic clubs, small colleges plus Washington State, Oregon and Oregon State, who Dobie would only play in Seattle or at a neutral location. His subsequent record at Navy and Cornell is what his reputation as a great coach really stands on. Also, he didn't win the 'national championship" in 1921-23. There was no national championship then, except those rewarded by mostly retroactive opinions. The AP, (writer's) poll didn't begin until 1936 and the UPI (coach's) poll until 1950. And even those 'national championships were unofficial. We didn't have the BCS until 1998 or the playoff until 2014 and even those have proven inadequate, (last year's Georgia team wasn't any worse than the previous two, which won the playoff but they weren't in it). Maybe now we'll get everybody in the playoff that deserves to be there and we'll have a real national champion for the first time.

@patrickt6642 2 ай бұрын

My great granddad had a simliar situation in his childhood.his widowed mother gave him to shakers.he ran away from them and came home.shakers thought sex was a sin so they would take kids in order to keep going.needless to say they died out

@OnDVD 2 ай бұрын

Me on Retro Bowl

@terryfox9344 2 ай бұрын

I had heard the name, but other than the fact that he was a successful football coach, oh and I think I had heard he coached at Washington, that's it. I certainly was not familiar with his story or details of his accomplishments.

@caseysmith544 2 ай бұрын

If you ever need a topic for your channel, look into How NCAA survived the WWII era. You hear about pro sports during this time but never how NCAA's Biggest sport survived in this era, could even be 2--3 parts if long.

@CollegeFootballHistory 2 ай бұрын

I have a long list, and that is one of the topics....

@caseysmith544 2 ай бұрын

@@CollegeFootballHistory Cool, I know very little on area and info is hard to find as if most schools were no longer schools or even shut down for 4 years is about all I can find is overall info.

@goodmaro 2 ай бұрын

I look at 8:56 at the headline's scare quotes around "Exam", and wonder if the reporter had a low opinion of the department's, or possibly the whole school's, academic rigor. "Exam", hmph! I mean, there would've been plenty of space in the headline to write Examination, so it's not like the quotes indicated a slang abbreviation.

@CollegeFootballHistory 2 ай бұрын

I got the idea from reading a number of these stories that the accusation about cheating was rather flimsy.

@caseysmith544 2 ай бұрын

Heard of name Gill Dobie but no clue who he was.