 1952 Bowman football card (rookie) | |||||||||
| No. 43 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | End Flanker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1930-02-08)February 8, 1930 Stoutsville, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | January 8, 2008(2008-01-08) (aged 77) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 198 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Miami Senior (Miami, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) (1949–1951) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1952: 1st round, 8th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Career: | 20–36 (.357) | ||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
James William Dooley (February 8, 1930 – January 8, 2008) was anAmerican football player and coach. He played in theNational Football League (NFL) as anend andflanker for theChicago Bears.[1]
Born inStoutsville, Missouri, Dooley grew up inMiami and graduated fromMiami High School in 1948. He originally wanted to pursue a career in medicine atVanderbilt University, but attended the nearbyUniversity of Miami when head coachAndy Gustafson agreed to have the school pay his way through medical school.
With theHurricanes, he played on both sides of the ball and put together an outstanding career, winningAll-American honors and was the first player in school history to have hisnumber retired. Possessing great speed, he capped hissenior year with four interceptions againstClemson University in theGator Bowl on New Year's Day and was selected in the first round of the1952 NFL draft by the Bears, eighth overall.[2]
In hisfirst year in the NFL, Dooley saw little time on offense, but collected five interceptions. In1953, he became an important part of the team's passing attack with 53 receptions and four touchdowns, showing a flair for faking out defenders while also popularizing the down-and-out pass. After 34 catches and seven touchdowns in1954, Dooley's career took a detour when he missed much of the next two seasons by serving theU.S. Air Force. He joined the team on November 28,1956, and played in their final three games, helping the team reach theNFL Championship Game against theNew York Giants.
Teaming with fellow wideoutHarlon Hill, Dooley hauled in 37 passes, but only reached the end zone once during the1957 season. He then missed the entire1958 campaign when he was forced to the sidelines with an ankle injury, but returned in1959 with 41 catches. After following that performance with 36 receptions in1960, Dooley made plans to retire, but changed his mind, catching only six passes thefollowing year.
After competing during the1962 preseason, Dooley officially retired, but he was soon added as an assistant coach. Three years as the team'swide receivers coach were followed in1966 by his elevation to the role of the team'sdefensive coordinator. The move followed the departure ofGeorge Allen toLos Angeles, with Dooley quickly becoming known for his innovative strategies. These included flip-flopping the team's defensive tackles during that first year, then using five men in the defensive backfield on third down in1967, which became known as "the Dooley Shift" and now is referred to as thenickel defense[citation needed].
In February1968, Dooley was returned to the offensive side of the ball, but that status changed just months later when 73-year-oldGeorge Halas announced his retirement as head coach on May 27 due toarthritis.[3][4][5][6] Dooley, 38, was promoted and introduced as head coach the following day.[7][8]
The Bears won half of their games that season, but the team collapsed thefollowing year with a franchise-worst1–13 record. The lone win that year came at midseason against the league's other1–13 team, thePittsburgh Steelers. In November, running backBrian Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer, and died the followingJune.[9]
In1970, the Bears improved by five games to finish with a6–8 record, and appeared to be on track for major improvement thefollowing year by winning five of their first seven games, including a23–19 victory in week seven over the eventualSuper Bowl championDallas Cowboys.[10] However, the second half of the campaign proved to be a disaster, with just one win in the final seven contests, including a34–3 humiliation onMonday Night Football on November 29 to the other Super Bowl participant, theMiami Dolphins.[11] It was the second of five consecutive losses to conclude the season. The inevitable result of the 1971 collapse came a month later when Dooley was fired on December 29, the first Bears coach ever to suffer that fate.[12]
Dooley soon signed as the linebacker coach for theBuffalo Bills, but resigned after just one season. After sitting out the1973 season, Dooley was named an assistant with the fledglingWorld Football League'sSouthern California Sun. The job came just one week after he had filed forbankruptcy, citing nearly half a million dollars in debts, including$320,000 to former Bear player and assistantSid Luckman. In a parallel of his personal problems, Dooley's job ended with the financial problems of the league, at which point he went to work for Luckman at Cellucraft, as a national account sales manager for flexible packaging products, for the next five years.
On October 12,1981, he was rehired by the Bears as an offensive consultant, a decision that caused conflict with the team's coaching staff, causing them to consider him something of a spy for management. After the conclusion of the season, Dooley and all the other coaches were dismissed, but the team's new head coachMike Ditka, who had played under Dooley two decades earlier, hired him to scout game film of upcoming opponents.
Dooley flourished in his new job, aiding the Bears's rise and playing a part in their dominating1985 season that was capped with a 46–10 victory over theNew England Patriots inSuper Bowl XX.
In 1997, he was honored by his alma mater with a spot in the Miami Hurricanes'Ring of Honor.
Dooley battledamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS,Lou Gehrig's disease) for his last ten years, and died atLake Forest Hospital in 2008, one month before his 78th birthday.[1] Buried atRosehill Cemetery in Chicago, he was survived by his wife, daughter, four sons, and 16 grandchildren.
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CHI | 1968 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | – | – | – | – | |
| CHI | 1969 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | – | – | – | – | |
| CHI | 1970 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | – | – | – | – | |
| CHI | 1971 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | – | – | – | – | |
| CHI Total | 20 | 36 | 0 | .357 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 20 | 36 | 0 | .357 | – | – | – | – | ||
