Dale Fike Dodrill (February 7, 1926 – January 18, 2019) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for nine seasons with the

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of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Colorado A&M Aggies (now Colorado State Rams).

Early life

Dodrill was born to George Dodrill and Lettie (Fike) Dodrill on February 27, 1926, in

Stockton, Kansas Stockton is a city in and the county seat of Rooks County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,480. History 19th century Stockton was founded in 1872. A large share of the first settlers were ca ...

. The family farmed in

Rooks County, Kansas Rooks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Stockton, and its largest city is Plainville. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,919. The county was named for John Rooks, a private in Compa ...

and Dale attended Plainville, Kansas schools. In 1937, the Dodrill family moved to

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

and then to

Loveland, Colorado Loveland is a List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated n ...

. In 1942, Dodrill played on the Loveland High School state championship football team. Dodrill was selected into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

right out of high school, serving in the 30th Infantry Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Dodrill's brother Garrett died in a prison camp in the

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during the war.

College career

In 1947, Dodrill enrolled at Colorado A&M (Colorado State University) to play football for the Rams. Dodrill played both sides of the ball for the Rams helping the team to its first post season appearance, the 1949 Raisin Bowl. Dodrill was selected All-Skyline Athletic Conference in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was selected to play in the East-West Shrine game in 1949 and the College All-Star game in 1951. In 1952, Dodrill won the Nye Trophy as the most outstanding Colorado State male athlete. Dodrill was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Professional career

Dodrill was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Round 6 of the 1951

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. During his nine-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dodrill posted career numbers of 10 interceptions and 11 recovered fumbles. One fumble recovery was returned for a touchdown. Dodrill was voted to the

NFL Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed throughou ...

four times (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958) and named First-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

in 1954. In 2007, Dodrill was honored by the Pittsburgh Steelers during their 75th Season Celebration. Dodrill was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team as one of the Steelers’ best players from the pre-1970 era. Dodrill was inducted into the Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Coaching career

After retiring from pro football, Dodrill coached the defensive line for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

from 1960 to 1963 and again in 1966.

Later and personal life

Dodrill married Janette Briggs on February 28, 1954. The couple has three sons, Garrett, Michael and David. In 1961, Dodrill started Dodrill Insurance in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. After building a successful business, Dodrill sold Dodrill Insurance to his sons in 1991. Michael died in 1964 and Janette in 2015.

References

External links

CSU football legend saw the horrors of World War IIDale Dodrill, Steelers Defensive Tackle, 1951-1959

Dale Dodrill's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodrill, Dale 1926 births 2019 deaths American football defensive linemen Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Colorado State Rams football players Denver Broncos coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players People from Stockton, Kansas United States Army personnel of World War II