Dallas Ward
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dallas Ward | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Title | Former Head coach | |
| Sport | football | |
| Born | August 11, 1906 | |
| Place of birth | Lexington, Oregon | |
| Died | February 1983 | |
| Place of death | Boulder, Colorado | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 63-41-6 | |
| Bowls | 1-0 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Awards | ||
| UPI Coach of the Week in 1952 | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1925-27 | Oregon State | |
| Position | End | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1948-58 | Colorado | |
Dallas "Dal" Ward (August 11, 1906 - February 1983) was a college football head coach at the University of Colorado from 1948-58, compiling a career record of 63-41-6 (.606) in 11 seasons. From 1953-54, Ward's teams won 9 game consecutive games, a personal best. Ward grew up in Lexington, Oregon on a ranch and played college football at Oregon State in the 1920s, where he started every game of his collegiate career.
He held membership in five honorary societies, including Phi Kappa Phi. He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.[1] The CU athletic administration center, located at the north end of Folsom Field, was named after him. [1] [2] As of 2007, Ward is one of only three multi-sport inductees in the hall of fame at Oregon State, where he was inducted in 1997.[2] He earned eight vasity letters: three for football and twice each for baseball and basketball, and was a captain in all three sports.[2]
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[edit] Career
After graduation from Oregon State, Ward taught in Minneapolis and became head coach at Marshall High in 1928, helped with a letter of recommendation written by Knute Rockne.[2] In 1936, Ward joined the staff at Minnesota as an assistant coach. During World War II, he served as officer-in-charge of physical and military training at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Dallas, Texas. After the war, he returned to Minnesota as backfield coach.
[edit] Coaching
Dal Ward became the head coach at Colorado in 1948, succeeding Jim Yeager. In his first two seasons his teams won three games each for a 6-13 record, but those were his only losing seasons. Following the 1956 regular season, his team won the Orange Bowl with a 27-21 win over Clemson — Colorado's first bowl game. After winning the season-ending bowl game, Ward was offered the head coaching positions at the USC and Minnesota but declined all offers, believing the next few years with the Buffaloes would be even better.[3] However, they did not turn out as hoped and on January 23, 1959 Ward was asked to resign by the university's Board of Regents but refused.[3] The Regents reconsidered their actions, but amid many letters of protest mailed in, the original decision was kept and Ward was fired.[3] Although no official reason was stated, it was widely believed Ward was relieved because of his inability to defeat the Oklahoma; his career record against the Sooners was 0-8-1.[3] His 1952 team did tie Oklahoma 21-21 in Boulder in the season opener, earning him UPI Coach of the Week honors.[3] He retired from coaching after his firing.
Dal Ward is credited with bringing the Colorado Buffaloes football program to national prominence in the 1950s.[3][4] As of 2007, Ward is third-ranked at CU for total number of games coached, 4th in total wins and 6th in total conference wins.
[edit] Coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl Game | Bowl Opponent | Outcome | Rank# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Buffaloes (Big Seven Conference) (1948 — 1957) | ||||||||
| 1948 | Colorado | 3-6 | 2-3 | 4th | ||||
| 1949 | Colorado | 3-7 | 1-4 | 6th | ||||
| 1950 | Colorado | 5-4-1 | 2-4 | 6th | ||||
| 1951 | Colorado | 7-3 | 5-1 | 2nd | ||||
| 1952 | Colorado | 6-2-2 | 2-2-2 | t-4th | ||||
| 1953 | Colorado | 6-4 | 2-4 | t-4th | ||||
| 1954 | Colorado | 7-2-1 | 3-2-1 | t-3rd | ||||
| 1955 | Colorado | 6-4 | 3-3 | t-3rd | ||||
| 1956 | Colorado | 8-2-1 | 4-1-1 | 2nd | Orange Bowl | Clemson | W, 27-21 | 18th |
| 1957 | Colorado | 6-3-1 | 3-3 | t-3rd | ||||
| Colorado Buffaloes (Big Eight Conference) (1958) | ||||||||
| 1958 | Colorado | 6-4 | 4-2 | 3rd | ||||
| At Colorado: | 63-41-6 (.606) | 31-29-4 (.517) | ||||||
| Career: | 63-41-6 (.606) | |||||||
| National Championship Conference Title | ||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | ||||||||
[edit] After coaching
Ward had earned tenure as a CU faculty member in 1956. He chose to stay at Colorado and teach. He and his wife Jan and their five children remained in Boulder, Colorado where Ward died of cancer in February 1983.[3]
[edit] External links
- University of Colorado Photos of Dallas Ward
[edit] References
- ^ History. Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ a b c Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame. Oregon State University (2005-09-14). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ a b c d e f OSU Sports History Minute. Oregon State University Alumni Association (2005-05-21). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ Lucile Peck (1991). Dallas Ward. Morrow County Historical Society. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
| Preceded by James J. Yeager |
University of Colorado Head Football Coach 1948–1958 |
Succeeded by Sonny Grandelius |
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