Cornell University Athletics

One of the game’s most successful coaches of all time, his reputation as a dour pessimist earned him the nickname “Gloomy Gil.” But no one would dare argue with his success. In 33 years of coaching at Agricultural College of North Dakota, University of Washington, the Naval Academy, Cornell and at Boston College, his teams scored 180 victories against just 45 losses and 15 ties. His Washington team went undefeated from 1908 through 1916. At Cornell his men had an undefeated string of 26 straight from 1921 through the first two games of 1924. His best team at Cornell was the 1922 squad which boasted a backfield of George Pfann, Eddie Kaw, Floyd Ramsey and Charles Cassidy. Pfann and Kaw are members of the Cornell Hall of Fame and both, along with Dobie, are in the National Football Hall of Fame. Dobie was known as a demanding perfectionist, His teams were usually characterized by precision and hard hitting power.