{{Short description|American football player and coach (1885–1963)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox college coach | name = Bill Dague | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=y|1885|10|28}} | birth_place = [[Fowler, Indiana]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=y|1963|08|27|1885|10|28}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S. | alma_mater = | player_years1 = 1902–1903 | player_team1 = [[Wabash Little Giants football|Wabash]] | player_years2 = 1905–1907 | player_team2 = [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]] | player_positions = [[End (gridiron football)|End]] | coach_years1 = 1915 | coach_team1 = [[Adrian Bulldogs football|Adrian]] | overall_record = 2–5 | bowl_record = | tournament_record = | championships = | awards = * Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1907 College Football All-America Team|1907]]) * Second-team All-American ([[1906 College Football All-America Team|1906]]) | coaching_records = }} '''William Henry Dague Jr.''' (October 28, 1885 – August 27, 1963) was an American [[American football|football]] player and coach. He played [[college football]] for [[Wabash College]] and the [[United States Naval Academy]]. He was the first consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] at Navy. He later served as an assistant football coach at Navy starting in 1908 and served as an officer on the [[USS Cincinnati (C-7)|USS Cincinnati]] on the [[Asiatic Station]] from 1912 to 1914. He was the head football coach at [[Adrian College]] in 1915.
==Early years== Dague was born in [[Fowler, Indiana]] in 1885. His father, William Henry Dague Sr., was a banker who was born in Pennsylvania in December 1844.<ref name=Banker/><ref name=C00/> At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, Dague was living in [[Benton, Indiana]] with his father and two adult brothers. His mother had died. One brother, Maynard, was born in April 1879 and working as a miner. The other, Samuel, was born in August 1877 and was working as a lawyer.<ref name=C00>Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Center, Benton, Indiana; Roll: T623_360; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 3.</ref>
==College== Dague enrolled at [[Wabash College]] in [[Crawfordsville, Indiana]].<ref name=Dope/> He played college football as an [[End (gridiron football)|end]] for the [[Wabash Little Giants]] in 1902 and 1903.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake County Times|date=1906-12-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Without A Score: Wabash Fails To Defeat Rose Polytechnic Because of Many Tumbles|newspaper=The Daily News-Review, Crawfordsville, Indiana|date=November 17, 1902|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oYUnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UQQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4873,4756088&dq=dague+wabash&hl=en}}</ref> In a game against [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] on Thanksgiving Day 1903, Dague had the longest run of the game on a 60-yard on the kickoff to start the second half. A newspaper account described Dague's return as follows:<blockquote>"The mighty Salmon kicked off and Dague caught the ball near his own goal line. He started up the field and by artful dodging wormed his way through the entire bunch. The last to tackle him was Capt. Salmon but the clever little player side-stepped him and the red headed hero of Notre Dame just grazed his ankle. It was sufficient to throw Dague off his balance, however, and before he could recover some four or five excited Catholics were piling upon him."<ref>{{cite news|title=Victory in Defeat: Wabash Made a Grand Showing Against the Strong Catholic Team|newspaper=The Daily News-Review, Crawfordsville, Indiana|date=November 27, 1903|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TognAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XQQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=5350,5432715&dq=dague+wabash&hl=en}}</ref></blockquote>
He was admitted to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in July 1904 and played at the [[End (American football)|end]] position for the [[Navy Midshipmen football]] team from 1905 to 1907. He was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1906 and 1907. In his final football game for Navy, Dague helped lead the Navy to a 6–0 win over [[Army Black Knights football|Army]] in front of 30,000 spectators at Philadelphia's [[Franklin Field]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Dague's contributions to the victory as follows: "Dague was a mercury-footed end that no runner escaped, his tackles being death-dealing in their fierceness. He followed the ball almost by scent and was always ready to pounce on the catcher immediately the ball settled in his arms."<ref>{{cite news|title=NAVY TRIUMPHS OVER ARMY, 6 – 0; CROWNING OF FOOTBALL SEASON; 30,000 Enthusiastic Persons See the Sturdy Naval and Military Youngsters Fight Their Annual Football Battle at Philadelphia|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1907-12-01|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/12/01/106769753.pdf}}</ref> He was the first consensus All-American player selected from the U.S. Naval Academy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Navy Yearly Records|publisher=College Football Encyclopedia|url=http://www.footballencyclopedia.com/indnavyrecords.htm|accessdate=2010-06-29|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711015424/http://www.footballencyclopedia.com/indnavyrecords.htm|archivedate=2011-07-11}}</ref> In December 1907, an Indiana newspaper reported on Dague's achievements as follows: "Will Dague of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, has bloomed into national celebrity as a star football player. He played right end for the navy in the army-navy game at Philadelphia Nov. 30th, and won special mention in all the eastern papers for the brilliant playing."<ref name=Banker>{{cite news|title=BANKER DAGUE'S SON: Is a "Comer" in the Football Line at Annapolis|newspaper=Logansport Pharos|date=1907-12-21}}</ref>
In May 1908, Dague was presented with a sword as the best all-around athlete at the Naval Academy.<ref>{{cite news|title=Honors for Navy Athletes|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1908-05-28|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/28/105006225.pdf}}</ref> In addition to playing football, he played right field for the Navy baseball team in 1907 and 1908 and led the Navy baseball team in batting. He also competed in wrestling as a lightweight.<ref name=Dope>{{cite news|title= Dope for the Bugs|newspaper=Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette|date=1908-05-29}}</ref>
==Football coach and military service== In the fall of 1908, Dague joined the football coaching staff at the Naval Academy.<ref>{{cite news|title=Douglas and Dague with Middles|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1908-10-14|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/10/14/106775676.pdf}}</ref>
In June 1912, Dague was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He served on the [[USS Cincinnati (C-7)|USS Cincinnati]] on the [[Asiatic Station]]. In November 1914, Dague resigned from the Navy and returned to his home in Fowler, Indiana.<ref>{{cite news|title=Washington Briefs|newspaper=Indianapolis Star|date=1914-11-21}}</ref>
In October 1915, Dague was hired to coach the football team at [[Adrian College]] in [[Adrian, Michigan]] for the remainder of the football season and to "take charge of college athletics all year."<ref name=SYR>{{cite news|title=Dague Now a Coach|newspaper=The Syracuse Herald|date=October 30, 1915}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dague Coaches Adrian: Former Annapolis End Will Have Charge of Football Team|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=October 21, 1915}}</ref> Dague was the head coach for the [[Adrian Bulldogs football]] for the 1915 season. His coaching record at Adrian was 2 wins and 5 losses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeLassus |first=David |title=Adrian Coaching Records |publisher=[[College Football Data Warehouse]] |url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iii/miaa/adrian/coaching_records.php |accessdate=November 15, 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121003213/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iii/miaa/adrian/coaching_records.php |archivedate=21 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dague reportedly also had "gained some experience as a coach at Wabash."<ref name=SYR/>
==Death== Dague died in 1963 at age 77 in [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref>Death index for William H. Dague, born 28 Oct 1885, Indiana;died 27 Aug 1963, Los Angeles; Mother's Maiden Name: McKeehan. Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line].</ref> He is buried at the [[Los Angeles National Cemetery]] (Section 191 Row Y Site 17).<ref>National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 [database on-line].</ref>
==Head coaching record== {{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subhead | name = [[Adrian Bulldogs football|Adrian Bulldogs]] | conf = [[Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] | startyear = 1915 | endyear = single }} {{CFB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | year = [[1915 college football season|1915]] | name = Adrian | overall = 2–5 | conference = 0–4 | confstanding = 6th | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = no | ranking2 = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal | name = Adrian | overall = 2–5 | confrecord = 0–4 }} {{CFB Yearly Record End | overall = 2–5 | bowls = no | poll = no | polltype = | legend = no }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Adrian Bulldogs football coach navbox}} {{1907 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dague, Bill}} [[Category:1885 births]] [[Category:1963 deaths]] [[Category:American football ends]] [[Category:All-American college football players]] [[Category:Navy Midshipmen baseball players]] [[Category:Navy Midshipmen football players]] [[Category:Navy Midshipmen football coaches]] [[Category:Wabash Little Giants football players]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Adrian Bulldogs football coaches]] [[Category:People from Fowler, Indiana]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Elkhart County, Indiana]] [[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]