Carl Herman Doehling (April 17, 1896 – May 21, 1985) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach. He was the head football coach at the Ripon College in

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,863 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Ripon (town), Wisconsin, Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White S ...

from 1924 to 1955. During his 32-year reign, Doehling coached teams to 15 conference championships, nine in the

Midwest Conference The Midwest Conference (MWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Confe ...

and six from the old

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

state conference known as the

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Career

Doehling began his coaching career in 1922 when he was offered a position at Central High School in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. There he coached his teams to football and track state championships in successive years of 1923 and 1924. His success in the high school ranks, made him an attractive candidate to Ripon officials and in 1924 he was offered him the position as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

and head football coach. Ripon teams had struggled for years and Doehling was seen was given the charge of building the program from the ground up. Doehling knew the entire program needed an overhaul. He looked at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

athletic department as his model. Not only did Wisconsin have strong intercollegiate athletics teams, but they also had a huge

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...

program. The coach saw this as something he felt should be in Ripon’s agenda and implemented it. By 1928, Ripon College had one of the strongest intramural departments in the state. Ripon's intramural program and intercollegiate sports flourished during his time. Ripon gained clout on both the local, regional and national levels during his term. One of Doehling's grandest victories came when his 1928 squad, a heavy underdog, defeated the powerhouse

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, 12–0. This was Ripon’s first ever victory against a

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opponent, and reportedly spread the Redmen name across the country. Thirty-thousand spectators came out to witness Ripon’s great upset, probably the largest crowd a Ripon team has ever played. Ripon teams did not always enjoy unbridled success during the Doehling era though. His final career record at Ripon was 95–99–24.

Memorial

In 1988, to commemorate the 25 years of rivalry between Doehling and Bernie Heselton, coach of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

from 1938 to 1964, the two schools instituted the Doehling–Heselton Memorial Trophy. The winner of the annual game between the Red Hawks and the Vikings is awarded this traveling trophy.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doehling, Carl 1896 births 1985 deaths Colorado State Rams football players Ripon Red Hawks athletic directors Ripon Red Hawks baseball coaches Ripon Red Hawks football coaches Ripon Red Hawks men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Minnesota High school track and field coaches in the United States People from Ripon, Wisconsin Players of American football from Denver