William "Red" Dawson
| No. 83 | |
| Date of birth | December 4, 1942 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Valdosta, Georgia |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | TE/DE |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| College | Florida State |
| Career history | |
| As coach | |
| 1968–1970 | Marshall (assistant) |
| 1970–1971 | Marshall (acting head coach) |
| 1971 | Marshall (assistant) |
| As player | |
| 1965 | Boston Patriots |
| 1966 | Orlando Panthers |
William Alfred "Red" Dawson (born December 4, 1942) is a former American football player and assistant coach for Marshall University. He was nicknamed "Red" for his red hair.
The Valdosta, Georgia native attended Florida State University and was an All-American at both tight end and defensive end. He was drafted by both the Los Angeles Rams (12th round, 161st overall) and Boston Patriots (19th round, 148th overall), but signed with the Patriots. He played nine games for Boston before being released on November 10, 1965.
In 1966, Dawson played for the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League.
In 1968, Dawson was hired by new Marshall head coach Perry Moss as receivers coach. Dawson had previously played for Moss as a member of the Orlando Panthers. After the season, which saw the Thundering Herd post a 0–9–1 record, allegations of rules violations and broken promises came to light and were proven true. Ultimately Marshall was found guilty of over 100 National Collegiate Athletic Association rules violations and was later expelled from the Mid-American Conference. Moss was fired, and former assistant Rick Tolley was named his successor.
On November 14, 1970 the Thundering Herd traveled to Kinston, North Carolina via a Douglas DC-9 chartered to take the team, coaches, school officials, and boosters to the game against the East Carolina Pirates and back home. The Herd lost, 17–14, on a controversial intentional grounding call against quarterback Ted Shoebridge on the last play of the game. En route back to Huntington, West Virginia, Southern Airways Flight 932 clipped some trees on approach to Tri-State Airport, and the plane crashed nearly vertically into a ravine short of the runway. All 75 people on board were killed, including 37 players and five of the eight coaches of the team.
...
Wikipedia