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Community Corner

Dakota County History 101: Gilmore Dobie (1878-1948) College Football Coach

Dobie notched 14 undefeated seasons coaching college football.

Gil Dobie, born Jan. 31, 1878, survived a childhood filled with tragedy to become one of the premiere college football coaches of the early 20th century. Dobie was orphaned in 1886 after his father, Robert, committed suicide; four years after Gil’s mother died of consumption at age 30. After a brief stay at the State School for Indigent Children in Owatonna, Dobie returned to Hastings and played on the high school’s first varsity football team in 1898.

Dobie took his football talents to the University of Minnesota in 1900 where he also earned a law degree. Coaching, not law, became Dobie’s focus after finishing up his on-field eligibility in 1902.  He stayed on as an assistant coach at his alma mater for three seasons before leading Minneapolis South High School for a single season.

After becoming head coach at North Dakota State University in 1906, Dobie would patrol the sideline for 33 consecutive seasons. Dobie’s coaching career took him from NDSU (1906-1907), to the University of Washington (1908-1916), the Naval Academy (1917-1919), Cornell University (1920-1935), and finally Boston College (1936-1938).

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As a college head coach, Dobie compiled 14 undefeated seasons including a 58-0-3 record in nine seasons at the University of Washington. Dobie also led Cornell to back-to-back-to-back undefeated seasons from 1921-1923. After his coaching career, Dobie stayed on the East Coast and died Dec. 23, 1948 in Hartford, Connecticut.

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