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GALLERY
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The captain of the first team Gus coached, Bill Brett '25, meets Joe Cieslak, captain of the '37 team.
A man casts his vote to elect Gus Dorais as the 1937 All-Star Head Coach. Several locations around Detroit were set up by volunteers to get the popular Dorais elected.
1937 - All-Star Voting
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Newspaper photo: University of Detroit co-ed's visited the Detroit Tigers at Brigg's Stadium to collect votes for Gus Dorais for All-Star Coach.
1937 - All-Star Practice
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All-Star Coach Gus Dorais directing practice at Northwestern University in preparation for the upcoming game against the champion Green Bay Packers.
1937 - College All-Star Practice
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Dorais was voted in as the head coach for the annual All-Star game in 1937 which the collegians won 6-0 over the NFL Champions Green Bay Packers. Here is a collage of pictures from the voting and practice leading up to the game.
1937 - College All-Star Practice
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Dorais was voted in as the head coach for the annual All-Star game in 1937 which the collegians won 6-0 over the NFL Champions Green Bay Packers. Here is a collage of pictures from the voting and practice leading up to the game.
1937 - College All-Star Practice
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Dorais(foreground) watches Slingin' Sammy Baugh of TCU throw passes in practice for the upcoming All-Star game against Green Bay. The All-Stars coached by Dorais won the contest 6-0 on a pass from Baugh.
1937 - College All Star Coach Dorais
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College All-Star Coach Gus Dorais.
1937 - College All Star Coach Dorais
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Newspaper photo: Coach Dorais(third from left) and others on the bench during the All-Star game.
1937 - College All Star Coach Dorais
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Coach Gus Dorais seen here plotting a play with Sam Francis, All-American from Nebraska in preparation for the upcoming Collegians vs. Green Bay Packers.
1937 - College All-Star Coaches
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Dorais was elected by popular vote as Head Coach of the 1937 All-Star team. Here he is with his coaching staff days before the game against the Green Bay Packers. The All-Stars won, 6-0. (left to right) Jimmy Phelan - University of Washington, Gus Dorais -
University of Detroit, Lynn Waldorf - Northwestern University, Bernie Moore - Louisiana State University.
1937 College All-Star Team
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1937 College All-Star Team. Featuring Sammy Baugh seated to the left of Head Coach Gus Dorais.
1937 College All-Star Coaches
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In 1937, a national poll voted Dorais head coach for the annual Chicago Charities All-Star Game. Led by Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, the All-Stars beat the champion Green Bay Packers, 6-0, in the first defeat of the pros by the collegians. Dorais and his coaching staff are pictured.
1937 - Dorais Advertising
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Dorais' popularity was used for various promotions and advertising as this example shows.
1937 - College All-Star Game
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Headlines from College All-Stars vs Professional champions. Dorais as head coach led the All-Stars to the first ever victory of the pros. A 6-0 win against the Green Bay Packers.
1937 - Dorais Banquet
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A testimonial dinner was held for Dorais at the Detroit Athletic Club to celebrate his success as the winning coach of the College All-Star game.
1937 - College All-Star Coach
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From the pages of a University of Detroit football program. The school was very proud of Dorais being elected head coach of the College All-Star team.
1937 - UofD Coaching Staff
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University of Detroit Titan coaching staff.
Dorais had an office in a house across the from the practice field at the University of Detroit. Here he is posing for a picture at his desk.
Picture of Gus Dorais from the 1938 UofD yearbook.
News-photo of Coach Gus Dorais from University of Detroit.
1938 - Coaches Purdue
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Several famous football coaches gathered at a gymnasium at Purdue University. Left-to-Right: Frank Thomas(Alabama), Pete Cawthon(Texas Tech), Gus Dorais(Detroit) and Franklin M. Reck.
Coach Gus Dorais of the University of Detroit.
1938 - UofD Hollywood
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Trip to Hollywood. In late 1938, Dorais (front row, second from right) and the entire team were a guest of Bing Crosby at Paramount Studios following a game in Sacramento. During their visit, the group met actor Robert Preston (front row, center) and other cast members from the movie set of Union Pacific.
Football program from the final game of the 1938 season where UofD upset the #19 Santa Clara team 7-6.
UofD v. Santa Clara Ticket
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One of Dorais’ fondest memories came from 1938 - beating the 19 th ranked Santa Clara University Broncos, winners of the last two Sugar Bowls and up until a few weeks earlier unbeaten since 1936.
‘The day my underdog University of Detroit team came up at Sacramento, Calif.,and beat Santa Clara, the Wonder Team of the West, by a 7-6 score..'
Detroit City Council - 1939
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Dorais was one of the first sports figures to serve in politics. In 1939 he was elected to the Detroit City Council. He served four terms. His legacy as a member of the council was improving the recreational facilitates around the city.
1939 - City Council Poster
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Dorais served four terms on the Detroit Common Council - 1940 -1947. He was popular among the Detroit voters and was known for among other things as a proponent of parks & recreation development for city children. Here he is posing in front of an election poster in 1939.
1939 - UofD Spring Practice
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Dorais, far right, looks over his players practicing at the University of Detroit during a spring practice drill in 1939.
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
