In 1940, Gil Dobie the
University of Washington football coach from 1908-1916 with a record of 59-0-3
met with a group of his former Washington players at the Washington Athletic
Club in Seattle. Making the long trip by train from Chestnut Hill,
Massachusetts the event, which was organized by his players, was led by my
grandfather, legendary Washington quarterback Wee Coyle (1908-1911).
The event was
well-covered by both Seattle newspapers, The Seattle Times and The
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (namely by sportswriter Royal Brougham at
the P-I). During his Seattle visit, Dobie met with UW head coach
Jim Phelan and toured the campus, as well as Husky Stadium.
Recently while going
through boxes of my grandfather’s memorabilia I found the original thank-you
letter written by Dobie to my grandfather and an old photo taken at the reunion.
If you are looking for
something that shows the affection the 'old gang' had for their coach and he
for them, this is it. He (Dobie) takes a train clear across the country to see
his 'boys,' and those same 'boys' have organized a reunion for their coach some
twenty years after they played for him. Why? Because on those dark and stormy
nights as he drove them to exhaustion on the practice field, every one of them
thought about quitting, for they didn't think they could live up to his severe
demands. But they didn't quit (including the ones who didn't even letter), and
eventually, they found themselves, ordinary guys from various backwater cities
in the northwest, with the best records of any of the teams that ever played
college football. That's what instills character in a man; the point being that
when you are ready to quit, for some reason there is one last thread that is
holding your will together and you just won't let it break. And once you have
fought off those of moments of doubt, you will fight to win, especially when
you have a man like Gil Dobie driving you towards excellence.
Also, see the adventures
of Wee Coyle) from Rich Linde’s website 4malamute.com
Will Lomen
Left to right: Maxwell
Eakins, Gilmour Dobie, Wee Coyle
