Encyclopedia Dubuque
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DALZELL, Wilbur
DALZELL, Wilbur. (Dartown, OH, Nov. 11, 1897--Dubuque, IA, July 18, 1980). Dalzell was the first prep coach named to the Iowa Coaches' Hall of Fame in three sports--football, wrestling and track. Inducted in 1968 for his football coaching record, Dalzell came to DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL in 1922 as the athletic director. He was also an assistant coach in football and track and head wrestling coach. In 1926 he was made the head football coach. (1) By 1932, he was also the head coach of track and wrestling. (2) Dalzell served as the head football coach for twenty-two years during which his teams won 104 games, lost 79, and tied 19. This record stood until 1990 when it was broken by STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL football coach Robert TIMMERMAN. The 1940 he coached the Senior high wrestlers to the Mississippi Valley Conference title. (3) He also coached Oran H. PAPE to all-state level of competition. (4) Dalzell, head coach for the first high school all star football game, helped form the eastern Iowa Mississippi Valley Conference.
Dalzell's football teams won the Mississippi Valley Conference championship five times from 1931 and 1943 (1931, 1933, 1937, 1939, 1943). His 1931 Ram team was captained by Jay BERWANGER, later the first winner of the HEISMAN TROPHY. Dalzell was so impressed by Berwanger as a football player and student that he wrote a column about the local legend for the Telegraph-Herald in 1934. (5) Lester J. "Dick" HOERNER, another football star under Dalzell, went on to fame as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
In November 1964, Dalzell was honored with the naming of Dalzell Field. He was elected to the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Hame in 1968. (6) In 1972 he was elected to the Iowa Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame. (7) Students were also able to qualify for the Wilbur Dalzell Memorial Scholarship.
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Source:
1. "Dubuque Coach," Telegraph-Herald, November 15, 1936, p. 12
2. "Three Coaches in Charge of High Athletics," Telegraph-Herald, November 13, 1932, p. 17
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Dalzell, Wilbur, "Local Mentor Recalls Tackle Against Moline," Telegraph-Herald, October 28, 1934, p. 15
6. "Dubuque's Dalzell Will Enter Iowa Coaches Hall of Fame," Telegraph Herald, November 29, 1968, p. 9
7. Langerstrom, Hal, " Dalzell Left a Formidable Legacy," Telegraph Herald, July 27, 1980, p. 27
Dubuque Senior High School Sports Hall of Fame (1992). Online: http://senior.dbqschools.org/athletics/sports-hall-of-fame/sports-hall-of-fame-1996/
"Wilbur Dalzell." Linwood Legacies. http://www.linwoodlegacies.org/wilbur-jennings-dalzell.html