Claire C. Dunn (May 17, 1915 – April 1, 1996) 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 served as the head football coach at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

from 1951 to 1953, compiling a record of 9–12.

Early life

Dunn was born on May 17, 1915 in

Genoa, Ohio Genoa is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Ottawa County, Ohio, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,232 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Originally settled as Stony Ridge, it took its present name in 1 ...

to George C. and Evelyn (Moore) Dunn. He was one of five brothers who were standout football players in Ohio. Dunn played three seasons at

Genoa Area High School Genoa Area High School is a public high school near Genoa, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Genoa Area Local School District. Other towns in the district are Curtice, Clay Center, Martin, and Williston. The nickname for th ...

before transferring to Waite High School for his senior season. He played fullback and linebacker for the 1932 Waite team that defeated

Miami Senior High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high schools in Miam ...

to win the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Dunn played three seasons of varsity football for

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

and was a member of the Bobcat teams that won back-to-back

Buckeye Athletic Association The Buckeye Athletic Association, also known as the Buckeye Conference, was an athletic league formed out of members of the Ohio Athletic Conference. Its original membership in 1926 included Ohio Wesleyan University (Battling Bishops), Ohio Univer ...

championships in 1935 and 1936. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from OU in 1937 and his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the same school a year later. On June 17, 1939, he married Adelaide M. Stright and they had four daughters.

Coaching

From 1939 to 1949, Dunn was an assistant football coach at Waite High School, where he also taught history and coached swimming and track. On February 25, 1947, Dunn was driving his nephew and four other Lott Day School students to school when a

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called ...

hit a patch of ice, skidded, and collided with his vehicle. Dunn suffered multiple fractures, but all five children were killed. In 1951, Dunn became a volunteer assistant at Toledo under Don Greenwood while continuing to teach at Waite. When Greenwood resigned following a brawl in a game against

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, Dunn succeeded him on an acting basis. Dunn's position as head coach was made permanent in January 1952. Toledo went 4–5 in 1952 and following a disappointing 3–6 1953 season that included an 81–0 loss to

Miami of Ohio Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest university in Ohio and the tenth-oldest public university in the United States ...

, president

Asa S. Knowles Asa Smallidge Knowles (January 15, 1909 – August 11, 1990) was the ninth President of the University of Toledo and the third President of Northeastern University. A graduate of Thayer Academy, Knowles went on to earn his AB from Bowdoin Colle ...

asked Dunn to resign or be fired. Dunn chose to resign.

Later life

After leaving Toledo, Dunn returned to Waite and taught history and sociology until his retirement in 1976. From 1972 until his death, Dunn owned and operated the Indian Mound Campground in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

. He died unexpectedly on April 1, 1996 at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Claire 1915 births 1996 deaths American football fullbacks Ohio Bobcats football players Toledo Rockets football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio People from Genoa, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Schoolteachers from Ohio