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GALLERY
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Dorais running around left end in a game against South Dakota on Oct 18, 1913 at Cartier Field - South Bend, IN.
University of Notre Dame football team on the way to play the storied Army game on Nov 1, 1913. The team stopped in Kingston, New York to switch trains when this picture was taken. Dorais is at the far left. Rockne is second from right.
1913 - Notre Dame vs. Army
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This picture is from the famous Notre Dame - Army game of 1913 as it appeared in Vanity Fair Magazine. Here Vernon Pritchard of Army is being tackled in the end zone by Dorais. The almost exact play happened later in the game but Dorais was successful in stripping the ball in the end zone that stopped an Army drive. This is the only known picture of Dorais from the game.
1913 - Dorais in Texas
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These two pictures of Dorais are from when the team was in Austin, Texas for the last game of the season. The team had played St. Louis the previous Saturday and took a train directly to Austin and stayed at St. Edwards College. With several days to kill before their next game, they took in the sites around Texas.
Dorais(far right) running around end during the game against the University of Texas at Austin. He attempted 7 field goals during the game, a record that stood for decades. Notre Dame won the final game of the season in Texas 30-7, capping off a perfect 7-0 season.
1913 - Notre Dame vs. Texas
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Last game of the storied 1913 season took place against Texas in Austin. Both teams came in to the contest undefeated. Notre Dame triumphed 30-7 capping off a perfect season. This pictures shows Dorais kicking one of seven field goal attempts on the day.
1913 - Notre Dame vs. Texas
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Notre Dame lined up in a modern day shotgun formation, then referred to as 'punt formation'. Dorais at quarterback, Rockne at left end. This is the Texas game where Gus attempted seven field goals making three.
1914 Notre Dame Varsity Track
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Dorais ran Hall track at Notre Dame his first three years before joining the varsity team his senior year. Gus is at the far right, Rockne is seventh from right.
1914 - Gus Suit & Pipe
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A picture of Gus from the Dorais Family Collection. He occasionally sent pictures home while attending ND. Here he is in his suit holding a pipe. ca1914
1914 - UND Players CLub
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University of Notre Dame Players Club. Dorais dabbled in acting along with his roommate Rockne. Dorais is in the last row far left. Rockne is is in the middle row far right.
A group of Seniors on their way to the 1914 Senior Ball at Notre Dame. Dorais is at the far right. Rockne is second from the left.
A group of seniors posing for a picture in front of the Father Corby statue at Notre Dame. This was a picture Gus sent home to his sister Flora. Gus is on the far left.
Monogram men taking a picture in front of the Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame. Dorais is sitting in the front, fourth from left. Rockne is sitting in the front, fourth from right.
From the UND yearbook of 1914. Gus Dorais and friend observing coeds on campus.
This is a parody playbill giving 'recognition' to Notre Dame’s perfect season of 1913. Notre Dame was not given consideration for the national champions.
1914 - Corby Hall Baseball
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The last team the famous roommates would play together on at Notre Dame - 1914 Corby Hall Baseball team. Dorais (top row, second from right), Rockne (top row, third from right).
A picture Gus(second from right) sent home of some of his friends standing behind Corby Hall on the campus of Notre Dame. He marked the picture to show which room was his.
1914 - Notre Dame Graduate
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Dorais graduated from Notre Dame with a Law degree. He intended to head west and practice law. However, his football reputation afforded him several opportunities in coaching. He would never practice law, instead he dedicated his life to athletics.
Dorais(center) standing in front of Corby Hall in his graduation gown. This photo is from his sister Flora's scrapbook.
1914 - Rockne Wedding
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Gus Dorais was Best Man at Knute Rockne's wedding in Sandusky, Ohio.
1915 - Dorais Vacation
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By 1915 Dorais was firmly established at Dubuque College teaching Commercial Law and coaching all the varsity sports. This is picture of Gus while on vacation somewhere in the Wisconsin wilderness. Throughout his life he was an avid outdoorsman. He was particularly adept at fly fishing.
1915 Dubuque Basketball Team
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Though he never played organized basketball, Dorais instituted statistical analysis rarely used at the time and led the Purple and Gold to multiple Hawkeye League titles.
1915 - Dubuque Track Team
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Dorais led the Dubuque College Track and Field team to multiple Hawkeye Conference titles.
1915 - Dubuque Football Team
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After struggling to a 2-4-1 record during his first year, 1914, Dorais’ 1915 Dubuque College squad went 7-1. They scored 168 points, allowed 39 and recorded 3 shutouts.
1916 - Dubuque Football Team
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1916 was Dorais' best as football coach at the Dubuque, Iowa institution - guiding the Purple and Gold to their only undefeated season ever and being named the Hawkeye Conference champions at 7-0-1.
1916 - Dubuque Football Team
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The Dorais-led Purple and Gold football squad went 7-0-1 in 1916, scoring 64 points, allowing 33 and recording two shutouts. They won the Hawkeye Conference title, were the only undefeated college in Iowa and took home the Western Catholic College title, too.
1916 - Ft. Wayne Friars
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1916 Fort Wayne Friars professional football team. All the players in this photograph are Notre Dame men. From left to right : Al Feeney, Joe Pliska, Keith Jones, Howard Edwards, Gus Dorais, Alvin Berger and Hugh O’Donnell.
1917 - Word War I Draft Registration.
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Dorais registered for military service soon after the draft was enacted. He would later go to Camp Dodge, Iowa for training and then on to Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas working as an officer in the Provost Marshal's office as well as Director of Athletics and quarterback for the camp football team.
1917 - Dubuque College
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Dubuque College football team of 1917. Dorais is at the far right wearing a hat.
1917 - Ft. Wayne Friars
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An advertisement for an upcoming professional football game between the Ft. Wayne Friars and Wabash. Dorais was the quarterback and captain of the team.
VIDEOS
1927 - University of Detroit football team beats South Dakota State in the final game of the season - 38-0.
1927 - University of Detroit football team training for the upcoming season at Camp Ozanam in Lexington, Michigan - north of Port Huron.
1928 - Gus Dorais puts his University of Detroit football team through drills in preperation for the upcoming 1928 season. The Titans would go on to have an undefeated season at 9-0. Parke Davis eventualy named the 1928 National Champions as a tie between Detroit and Georgia Tech.
1928 - University of Detroit beats Loyola at Dinan Field, 27 to 0. Captain Tom Connell makes the first touchdown for U of D. Malony breaks thru for a 60 yard run. Connell passes to Brazil for a 20 yard gain.
1928 - University of Detroit undefeated football team are guests of Delta Sigma Pi at annual football banquet.
1936 - Gus Dorais Interview regarding the development of the Forward Pass. Howard Jones - USC Head Coach - interviews Gus. Courtesy of University of Notre Dame Archives.
The 2013 college football season marks the 100th anniversary of Notre Dame's victory over Army - when Gus Dorais and Knute Rockne utilized the forward pass to upset the Cadets and establish Notre Dame as a national football power. The work that Dorais and Rockne did was commemorated by the University and Cedar Point in the summer of 2013. Dorais and Rockne's great grandsons reenact the scene on the beach.
2013 - Fighting Irish Digital Media investigates Dorais and Rockne and the storied 1913 season, the forward pass, Sorin Hall, ND Archives, Cedar Point and more.
"2018 Finalist Award from American Book Fest"
"... It is a story researched and told lovingly, one that helps provide immense context and understanding not just of Dorais' life and competitive fire but of Notre Dame's rise as a power and the foundation of American football itself. The game today, of course, is the forward pass. With his then-unique throwing style, Gus Dorais was the pioneer who pointed the way and thus defined the pass. His story is the game's story. With a timing that meant everything."
- Roland Lazenby - Most prolific sports author of our time - Latest book, Michael Jordan: The Life 2018
"This book tells the unknown story of one of football's early pioneers - Gus Dorais. From his humble beginnings, to his influence on the sport as a player, scout and coach, this well-researched and well written account of Dorais' life will fascinate readers. The combination of Joe Niese and Bob Dorais have told the story of a football lifer that is long overdue."
- Chris Willis, Head of Research Library, NFL Films
"As teammates at Notre Dame, Gus Dorais and Knute Rockne changed how the game of football was played. Great friends and coaching colleagues, they shared a passion for the game and what it could achieve as a means of molding young lives. They influenced so many under their tutelage, helping cement the best elements of football as a staple in American life and culture. It's an enduring legacy that has positive effects still felt today. Joe Niese and Bob Dorais have done a remarkable job of capturing the life and importance of Rock's cherished pal."
- Jim Lefebvre, Notre Dame football scholar & award-winning author: "Coach For A Nation: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne"
"Gus Dorais is an excellent biography about one of the legendary coaches of college football history who is unfortunately forgotten today for that aspect of his career. This important book belongs in every football historian's personal library."
- Ray Schmidt, Football Historian/President College Football Historical Society
"The book leaves no doubt that Dorais was an innovative coach in designing plays and offensive formations...The authors have done a splendid job of describing an era in football when it was undergoing significant change and following the life of a player and later a coach who was responsible for many of those changes."
- Michigan in Books
