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1924 - Gonzaga Football Team
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The 1924 Gonzaga University team went undefeated (5-0-2) and tied the University of Idaho as Northwest Conference champions. Captain Houston Stockton (front-row holding ball). Years later, Ray Flaherty (Third row far right), a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, would hire Gus as a scout in the All-American Football Conference.
1925 - Gonzaga Basketball Team
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Dorais (back row, far right) moved west to Spokane, WA in 1920 and built up Gonzaga University's athletic department as A.D. and head coach. He brought stability to a basketball program that saw ten coaches since it had begun in 1907-08. Here is the Bulldogs 1924-25 team.
1925 - University of Detroit
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One of the first pictures of Coach Dorais after he arrived at the University of Detroit.
Gus & Vi Dorais arrived in Detroit in 1925. Soon after the alumni association held a dinner dance to welcome the couple to UofD.
When Dorais came to the University of Detroit there was a new state of the art stadium to help promote the football program.
1925 - UofD Coaching Staff
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Dorais arrived in Detroit in mid-1925. He immediately began to organize the athletic department. One of the first tasks was to get the football team practicing. Here is Gus with his coaching staff that year. L-R: John Barrett, Ed Degree & Gus Dorais
Dorais coached all the major sports when he first arrived at University of Detroit. Here is a head shot of Head Basketball Coach Dorais.
Two pictures of University of Detroit Coach Gus Dorais from 1926.
The 1926 University of Detroit eleven. Dorais is far right first row.
1927 - UofD Football Team
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1927 University of Detroit Football team. Gus is seated on the far left holding his son Bill Dorais.
1927 - UofD Basketball Team
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Dorais initially coached all the varsity sports at the University of Detroit. Here he is with the 1927 basketball team.
1927 - UofD Football Team
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The 1927 University of Detroit football team.
The University of Detroit football coaches in 1927. (L-R) Arthur 'Bud' Boeringer, Michael 'Dad' Butler & Gus Dorais.
1927 - Rockne & Dorais
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Rockne and Dorais meet on the sidelines prior to only game between Notre Dame and University of Detroit with the former roommates as coaches. Notre Dame came away the winners 20-0. This would be one of the last meeting the pair would have before Rockne's death in 1931.
1927 - Rockne & Dorais
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Rockne and Dorais meet on the sidelines prior to only game between Notre Dame and University of Detroit with the former roommates as coaches. Notre Dame came away the winners 20-0. This would be one of the last meeting the pair would have before Rockne's death in 1931.
University of Detroit Head Coach Gus Dorais = fall 1927
Dorais Forward Pass - ca1928
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Dorais conducted coaching schools around the country throughout his career - often teaming up with the greatest coaches of the times. Gus is seen here demonstrating forward pass technique at a coaching clinic hosted by Knute Rockne - ca1928.
Dorais going over the playbook with his star players, Al Gheshire(L) and Lloyd Brazil(R) prior to a game during the undefeated 1928 season.
A picture of University of Detroit Head Coach Gus Dorais after his successful undefeated 1928 football season.
Dr. William E. Keane(right) presented Gus Dorais(left) with a new LaSalle car in recognition of his services to University of Detroit. The car, which was given to Coach Dorais on behalf of the Alumni Association, is painted in the university colors red & white.
1928 - UofD Football Team
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The 1928 Co-National Champions University of Detroit undefeated (9-0) football team. Part of an unbeaten streak that lasted 22 games, over three seasons.
1928 - Gridgraph Vi Dorais
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High tech way to follow a game live in 1928. Vi Dorais was invited to the Statler Hotel in Detroit to watch-listen to the Titans game against Fordham at the Polo Grounds in New York.
The University of Detroit 1928 Co-National Championship team. The Titans went undefeated with a 9-0 record. Dorais is to the far right.
A Gus Dorais graphic that appeared in newspapers during the 1928 season.
University of Detroit Head Coach Gus Dorais meets with newly hired University of Michigan Head Coach Harry Kipke at a football meeting of coaches in 1929.
1929 UofD Field Lights
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University of Detroit alum, Edwin Labadie throws the switch on the new lighting system for Dinan Field at UofD. Touted as the worlds greatest lighting system at the time, Dorais wanted to switch home games to Friday night to attract more fans. Gus, third from right, looks on as the lights are turned on. Lloyd Brazil is on the far left.
1929 - Athletic Director Dorais
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From a page in a University of Detroit football game.
News-wire photo showing dorais demonstrating the forward pass. ca1930
1930 - Dorais, Zuppke & Kipke
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Three top coaches of the day(L-R); Gus Dorais - Detroit, Bob Zuppke - Illinois and Harry Kipke - University of Michigan.
1930 - UofD Dinan Field
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ca1930 - Dinan Field at the University of Detroit is lit up at night for a football game. Touted as the world's greatest lighting system at the time, Dorais wanted to switch home games to Friday night to attract more fans.
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
