Mike Donahue
Encyclopedia
Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football
player, coach of football, basketball
, baseball
, tennis
, track, soccer, and golf
, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Auburn University
(1904–1906, 1908–1922), at Louisiana State University
(1923–1927), and at Spring Hill College
(1934–?). Donahue also coached basketball (1905–1921), baseball, track, and soccer (1912–?) at Auburn and baseball (1925–1926) and tennis (1946–1947) at LSU. He was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1951. Donahue Drive in Auburn, Alabama
, on which Jordan–Hare Stadium is located and the Tiger Walk takes place, is named in his honor.
at Yale University
, from which he graduated in 1903.
team beginning in 1904. His coaching career saw immediate success, as his first team
went undefeated at 5–0. Donahue's Auburn teams won two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
titles, in 1913 and 1919. His 1913 squad
has been retroactively recognized as a national champion
by the Billingsley Report. Donahue's 1913 and 1914 teams went undefeated, with the 1914 squad allowing zero points to be scored all year. From 1913 into 1915, Auburn went 22 consecutive games without a loss. Donahue's 1920 team
averaged 36.9 points per game.
In 18 seasons coaching football at Auburn, Donahue amassed a record of 106–35–5 and had three squads go undefeated with four more suffering only one loss. His .743 career winning percentage is the second highest in Auburn history, surpassing notable coaches including John Heisman
, Ralph "Shug" Jordan
, Pat Dye
, Terry Bowden
, and Tommy Tuberville
.
Donahue also served as athletic director
, basketball coach, baseball coach, track coach, and soccer coach while at Auburn. In 1905, Donahue initiated the school's first official varsity basketball team, which went 3–1–1, including victories over Georgia Tech
and Tulane
, a two point loss to the Columbus (Georgia) All-Stars, and a tie with the Birmingham Athletic Club. Under Donahue, basketball practice was a contact sport; a former player once lamented, "He never bothered calling fouls--said it slowed up the game." In 1912, he coached Auburn's first soccer team. By the beginning of the 1915 season, Auburn was only playing athletic clubs and prep schools and had yet to participate in an intercollegiate match, due to a lack of soccer programs at other Southern colleges.
in 1923 and had a 23–19–3 record over five seasons before retiring from coaching after the 1927 season. He also served briefly as the head coach of the LSU Tigers baseball
team (1925–1926), compiling a record of 15–15–3, and as the head men’s tennis coach at LSU (1946–1947), tallying a mark of 0–7.
In 1934, Donahue reentered the coaching ranks at Spring Hill College
, where he mentored his son, Mike, Jr.Mike Donahue Coaches Again, St. Petersburg Times, Nov 14, 1934.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach of football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track, soccer, and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
(1904–1906, 1908–1922), at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
(1923–1927), and at Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
(1934–?). Donahue also coached basketball (1905–1921), baseball, track, and soccer (1912–?) at Auburn and baseball (1925–1926) and tennis (1946–1947) at LSU. He was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1951. Donahue Drive in Auburn, Alabama
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...
, on which Jordan–Hare Stadium is located and the Tiger Walk takes place, is named in his honor.
Playing career
Donahue played quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, from which he graduated in 1903.
Auburn
Upon graduating college, Donahue became the tenth head coach of the Auburn Tigers footballAuburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
team beginning in 1904. His coaching career saw immediate success, as his first team
1904 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1904 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1904–1905 college football season.The team went undefeated, winning all five of its regular season games. It also won two "practice" games against Montgomery and the University of Florida...
went undefeated at 5–0. Donahue's Auburn teams won two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, as were at least 19 other schools...
titles, in 1913 and 1919. His 1913 squad
1913 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1913 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1913 college football season. The team was coached by Mike Donahue and was undefeated at 8–0, outscoring opponents 224–13...
has been retroactively recognized as a national champion
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
by the Billingsley Report. Donahue's 1913 and 1914 teams went undefeated, with the 1914 squad allowing zero points to be scored all year. From 1913 into 1915, Auburn went 22 consecutive games without a loss. Donahue's 1920 team
1920 Auburn Tigers football team
The 1920 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1920 college football season. The team went 7–2, outscoring opponents 332–49. Auburn was dominant in their wins , but were held scoreless in their two losses.-Schedule:...
averaged 36.9 points per game.
In 18 seasons coaching football at Auburn, Donahue amassed a record of 106–35–5 and had three squads go undefeated with four more suffering only one loss. His .743 career winning percentage is the second highest in Auburn history, surpassing notable coaches including John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
, Ralph "Shug" Jordan
Ralph Jordan
James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Auburn from 1951 to 1975, where he compiled a record of 176–83–6. He is the winningest coach in Auburn Tigers football...
, Pat Dye
Pat Dye
Patrick Fain Dye is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University , the University of Wyoming , and Auburn University compiling a career college football record of 153–62–5...
, Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden is an American football coach at the University of North Alabama. Bowden was previously the head coach at Salem University , Samford University , and Auburn University . Bowden is the son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden...
, and Tommy Tuberville
Tommy Tuberville
Thomas Hawley Tuberville is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position he has held since the 2010 season...
.
Donahue also served as athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
, basketball coach, baseball coach, track coach, and soccer coach while at Auburn. In 1905, Donahue initiated the school's first official varsity basketball team, which went 3–1–1, including victories over Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in NCAA Division I basketball. The team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Under the tenure of Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech established itself as a national force in basketball...
and Tulane
Tulane Green Wave
Green Wave, the nickname of the sports teams of Tulane University, was adopted during the 1920 season, after a song titled The Rolling Green Wave was published in Tulane's student newspaper in 1920. From 1893 to 1919, the athletic teams of Tulane were known as the Olive and Blue for the official...
, a two point loss to the Columbus (Georgia) All-Stars, and a tie with the Birmingham Athletic Club. Under Donahue, basketball practice was a contact sport; a former player once lamented, "He never bothered calling fouls--said it slowed up the game." In 1912, he coached Auburn's first soccer team. By the beginning of the 1915 season, Auburn was only playing athletic clubs and prep schools and had yet to participate in an intercollegiate match, due to a lack of soccer programs at other Southern colleges.
LSU
Donahue went on to become the seventeenth head football coach at LSULouisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in 1923 and had a 23–19–3 record over five seasons before retiring from coaching after the 1927 season. He also served briefly as the head coach of the LSU Tigers baseball
LSU Tigers baseball
The LSU baseball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college baseball.Along with the other LSU athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the West division of the Southeastern Conference...
team (1925–1926), compiling a record of 15–15–3, and as the head men’s tennis coach at LSU (1946–1947), tallying a mark of 0–7.
In 1934, Donahue reentered the coaching ranks at Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
, where he mentored his son, Mike, Jr.Mike Donahue Coaches Again, St. Petersburg Times, Nov 14, 1934.
Football
External links
- Mike Donahue at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com