Frank Dobson
Frank Dobson went 88–113–13 as a head coach, 1909–1948, at Georgia, Clemson, Richmond, South Carolina, Maryland and Apprentice. Wikipedia’s season articles record 13 seasons differently (1913, 5–3–1, 1914, 5–4, 1915, 4–4–1, 1916, 5–4–2, 1917, 4–2–1, 1919, 5–2–2, 1920, 6–2, 1926, 2–7, 1927, 4–4–1, 1928, 3–4–2, 1929, 3–5–1, 1930, 2–4–2 and 1931, 4–5); by them his record is 136–142–24. Share
Eight seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1909 at Georgia; 1940–43, 1946–48 at Apprentice. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 88–113–13 career
- Seasons
- 36
- Schools
- 6
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1913 1–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Georgia * | 1–4–2 | ||||
| 1910 | Clemson | 4–3–1 | 10th | |||
| 1911 | Clemson | 3–5 | 13th | |||
| 1912 | Clemson | 4–4 | T–8th | |||
| 1913 | Richmond | 1–0 (Wikipedia: 5–3–1) | 1st / | |||
| 1914 | Richmond | 0–3 (Wikipedia: 5–4) | 1st / 9th | |||
| 1915 | Richmond | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 4–4–1) | T–2nd / T–6th | |||
| 1916 | Richmond | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 5–4–2) | T–1st / 9th | |||
| 1917 | Richmond | 0–1 (Wikipedia: 4–2–1) | 2nd / T–2nd | |||
| 1918 | South Carolina | 2–1–1 | ||||
| 1919 | Richmond | 0–1–1 (Wikipedia: 5–2–2) | T–7th | |||
| 1920 | Richmond | 1–2 (Wikipedia: 6–2) | T–7th | |||
| 1921 | Richmond | 4–3–1 | T–7th | |||
| 1922 | Richmond | 6–2–1 | ||||
| 1923 | Richmond | 3–5 | ||||
| 1924 | Richmond | 2–6–1 | ||||
| 1925 | Richmond | 3–6 | ||||
| 1926 | Richmond | 1–2 (Wikipedia: 2–7) | ||||
| 1927 | Richmond | 0–3 (Wikipedia: 4–4–1) | 3rd | |||
| 1928 | Richmond | 0–0–1 (Wikipedia: 3–4–2) | 5th | |||
| 1929 | Richmond | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 3–5–1) | 5th | |||
| 1930 | Richmond | 0–2 (Wikipedia: 2–4–2) | 5th | |||
| 1931 | Richmond | 1–1 (Wikipedia: 4–5) | 3rd | |||
| 1932 | Richmond | 4–2–2 | 1st | |||
| 1933 | Richmond | 5–4 | T–1st | |||
| 1934–35: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1936 | Maryland | 6–5 | 5th | |||
| 1937 | Maryland | 8–2 | 1st | |||
| 1938 | Maryland | 2–7 | 12th | |||
| 1939 | Maryland | 2–7 | 14th | |||
| 1940 | Apprentice * | 2–5 | ||||
| 1941 | Apprentice * | 7–1 | ||||
| 1942 | Apprentice * | 3–3–2 | ||||
| 1943 | Apprentice * | 5–2 | ||||
| 1944–45: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1946 | Apprentice * | 2–5 | ||||
| 1947 | Apprentice * | 1–6 | ||||
| 1948 | Apprentice * | 5–4 | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Against rivals | 38 | 10–26–2 | 29% |
| Conference games | 41 | 16–22–3 | 43% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 50 | 20–21–9 | 49% |
| At home | 76 | 41–29–6 | 58% |
| On the road | 78 | 21–54–3 | 29% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 87 | 55–27–5 | 66% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 67 | 7–56–4 | 13% |
His own 154 games on file, 1910–1939, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W.C. Raftery 1927–1936 | 3–4–1 | VMI | 8 | |
| Jack Hagerty 1936–1939 | 1–3 | Georgetown | 4 | |
| Josh Cody 1936–1939 | 1–3 | Florida | 4 | |
| Gilmour Dobie 1927–1933 | 0–4 | Cornell | 4 | |
| Billy Laval 1918–1923 | 2–1 | Furman | 3 | |
| Charles C. Stroud 1910–1912 | 1–2 | Mercer | 3 | |
| Frank Murray 1937–1939 | 1–2 | Virginia | 3 | |
| Ossie Solem 1937–1939 | 1–2 | Syracuse | 3 | |
| John Heisman 1910–1912 | 0–3 | Georgia Tech | 3 | |
| Mike Donahue 1910–1912 | 0–3 | Auburn | 3 |
Frank Dobson’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| VMIseries | 14 | 4–9–1 |
| Virginiaseries | 12 | 2–9–1 |
| Hampden Sydneyseries | 8 | 5–1–2 |
| Randolph Maconseries | 7 | 6–0–1 |
| William & Maryseries | 7 | 3–4 |
| Virginia Techseries | 7 | 1–6 |
| Washington and Leeseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Roanokeseries | 5 | 3–2 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 | Rose Polytechnic | Assistant coach | |
| 1908 | Georgia Tech | Assistant coach | |
| 1909 | University School for Boys (GA) high school | Head coach | |
| 1909 | Georgia | Co-head coach | |
| 1910–12 | Clemson | Head coach | |
| 1913–17 | Richmond | Head coach | |
| 1918 | South Carolina | Head coach | |
| 1919–33 | Richmond | Head coach | |
| 1935 | Maryland | Assistant coach | |
| 1936–39 | Maryland | Head coach | |
| 1940–48 | Apprentice | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John HeismanGeorgia Tech
- Jack FaberMaryland
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Heisman | Georgia Tech | 1908 | Assistant coach | |
| Jack Faber | Maryland | 1935 | Assistant coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.