Godlove Orth Dietz (August 17, 1872 – March 23, 1929) was an American

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 ...

player, coach, lawyer, and judge. He served as the head football coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

in 1902 and Kansas State Agricultural College—now known as

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

—in 1903, compiling a career

record of 7–7–2.

Playing career

Dietz graduated from the Grand Prairie Seminary in

Onarga, Illinois Onarga is a village in Onarga Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, Onarga Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,333 at the 2020 census. Geography Onarga is located in western Iroquois ...

. Dietz then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, which was affiliated with the seminary. At Northwestern, Dietz played as a

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

for four seasons for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. Also starting on the team during three of these years was Dietz's brother, Cyrus E. Dietz. G. O. Dietz graduated from Northwestern with a law degree, and was a member of the

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international collegiate social fraternity. It was formed in 1890 at Cornell University as a professional fraternity for law students, becoming a social fraternity in 1922. In 1929. Delta Chi became one of the first internat ...

fraternity along with his brother Cyrus.

Coaching career

Drake

Dietz got his first head coaching job as the sixth head football coach at

located in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

for the 1902 season. His record at Drake was 4–3–1. The last game of his season at Drake would provide his career coaching highlight with at 47–0 pounding over

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

on November 26, 1902.

Kansas State

The next year, Dietz was named the eighth head football coach for the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The School colors, official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are gener ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

for the 1903 season, succeeding his brother Cyrus in the job. His record at Kansas State was 3–4–1.

Legal career

Dietz and his brother subsequently went into the practice of law together, opening a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

, with Burton Peek. In the 1920s, Dietz served as a judge on the Moline City Court.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietz, G. O. 1872 births 1929 deaths 19th-century players of American football Drake Bulldogs football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Illinois state court judges Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Iroquois County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois