Lowell Potter "Red" Dawson (December 20, 1906 – June 10, 1983) was an American football coach for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Tulane Green Wave at the collegiate level and the AAFC's Buffalo Bills at the professional level. He was a native of River Falls, Wisconsin.[1]

Red Dawson
Dawson pictured in The 1954 Owl, Pittsburgh yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1906-12-20)December 20, 1906
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedJune 10, 1983(1983-06-10) (aged 76)
Ocala, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
1929–1931Tulane
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1932–1935Minnesota (backfield)
1936–1941Tulane
1942Minnesota (assistant)
1946–1949Buffalo Bills (AAFC)
1950–1951Michigan State (assistant)
1952–1954Pittsburgh
Head coaching record
Overall45–30–5 (college)
19–25–4 (AAFC)
Bowls0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 SEC (1939)
Awards
All-Southern (1931)

He learned the craft of football coaching at the University of Minnesota under Bernie Bierman, his former coach at Tulane. At Pitt he coached future Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt and won Pittsburgh's "Dapper Dan" sports award in 1952. Dawson's greatest successes as a coach, however, were with Tulane and Buffalo. His 1939 Tulane squad went through the season undefeated before a disappointing loss to Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. In 1948 his Buffalo Bills team captured the AAFC Eastern Division title in a playoff against the Baltimore Colts, though they ultimately lost the AAFC Championship Game to the Cleveland Browns. Dawson's final win–loss record was 36–19–4 at Tulane, 9–11–1 at Pittsburgh, and 19–25–4 at Buffalo.

Head coaching record

edit

College

edit
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP#
Tulane Green Wave (Southeastern Conference) (1936–1941)
1936 Tulane 6–3–1 2–3–1 8th
1937 Tulane 5–4–1 2–3–1 9th
1938 Tulane 7–2–1 4–1–1 T–2nd 19
1939 Tulane 8–1–1 6–0 T–1st L Sugar 5
1940 Tulane 5–5 1–3 10th
1941 Tulane 5–4 2–3 8th
Tulane: 36–19–4 17–13–3
Pittsburgh Panthers (Independent) (1952–1954)
1952 Pittsburgh 6–3
1953 Pittsburgh 3–5–1
1954 Pittsburgh 0–3
Pittsburgh: 9–11–1
Total: 45–30–5
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Professional

edit
Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
BUF 1946 3 10 1 .250 T-2nd in AAFC East
BUF 1947 8 4 2 .643 2nd in AAFC East
BUF 1948 7 7 0 .500 1st in AAFC East 1 1 .500 Lost to Cleveland Browns in AAFC Championship.
BUF 1949 1 4 1 .250 3rd in AAFC
BUF Total 19 25 4 .438
AAFC Total[2] 19 25 4 .438 1 1 .500
Total 19 25 4 .438 1 1 .500

References

edit
  1. ^ https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A22975/datastream/PDF/view [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ "Red Dawson Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
edit