 Donahue at Auburn in 1909 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1876-06-14)June 14, 1876 County Kerry, Ireland |
| Died | December 11, 1960(1960-12-11) (aged 84) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1899–1903 | Yale |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1904–1906 | Auburn |
| 1908–1922 | Auburn |
| 1923–1927 | LSU |
| 1931–1932 | Spring Hill (assistant) |
| 1934 | Spring Hill |
| 1935–1936 | Spring Hill (freshmen) |
| Basketball | |
| 1905–1921 | Auburn |
| Baseball | |
| 1925–1926 | LSU |
| Tennis | |
| 1946–1947 | LSU |
| Golf | |
| 1944–1945 | LSU |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1929–1936 | Spring Hill |
| 1937–1948 | LSU (intramural director) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 133–59–8 (football) 72–81 (basketball) 15–15–3 (baseball) 0–7 (tennis) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 3 National Championships (1910,1913,1914) 6SIAA (1904, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1919) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1951 (profile) | |
Michael Joseph "Iron Mike"Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an Irish-Americanfootball player, coach of football,basketball,baseball,tennis,track,soccer, andgolf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach atAuburn University (1904–1906, 1908–1922), atLouisiana State University (1923–1927), and atSpring Hill College (1934).
In 18 seasons coaching football at Auburn, Donahue amassed a record of 106–35–5 and had three squads go undefeated with four more suffering only one loss. His .743 career winning percentage is the second highest in Auburn history, surpassing notable coaches such asJohn Heisman andRalph "Shug" Jordan. Donahue Drive inAuburn, Alabama, on whichJordan–Hare Stadium is located and theTiger Walk takes place, is named in his honor, as is Mike Donahue Drive on the LSU campus.
Donahue also coached basketball (1905–1921), baseball, track, and soccer (1912–?)[1] at Auburn and baseball (1925–1926) and tennis (1946–1947) at LSU. He was inducted as a coach into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1951.
Donahue was born inCounty Kerry, Ireland and attendedYale University.[2] There he lettered in football, basketball, track and cross country.[3] Donahue played as a substitutequarterback on the football team, and was twice captain of the scrub team.[4] He graduated in 1903.[2] Donahue stood just 5'4" tall,[5] with red hair and blue eyes.[6]
Upon graduating college, Donahue became the tenth head coach of theAuburn Tigers football team beginning in1904, the same yearVanderbilt hiredDan McGugin. Former Auburn head coachBilly Watkins led the effort to acquire Donahue.[4][7] Contrasting with McGugin,Fuzzy Woodruff wrote that Donahue was "a mouse-like little man with little to say, save when aroused, on which he was capable of utterances of great fire and fervor."[8] His teams were led by his7–2–2 defense.[9][10]
His coaching career saw immediate success, as his first team went undefeated at 5–0 including a defeat of rival Alabama which was the purpose for his hiring.[11] Donahue's Auburn teams won sixSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles, in 1904,1908,1910,1913,1914 and1919.
Donahue's 1913 and 1914 teams went undefeated,[12] with the 1914 squad allowing zero points to be scored all year, and have been recognized asnational champions by various, retroactive selectors including Billingsley Report and the Howell Ratings. From 1913 into1915, Auburn went 22 consecutive games without a loss. One source on the 1913 team reads "Coach Donahue loved the fullback dive and would run the play over and over again before sending the elusive Newell wide on a sweep."[13]
Donahue's1920 team averaged a then-school record 36.9 points per game.His last team was considered one of the best teams Auburn turned out in the first half of the 20th century.[14][n 1]
His .743 career winning percentage is the second highest in Auburn history, surpassing notable coaches includingJohn Heisman,Ralph "Shug" Jordan,Pat Dye,Terry Bowden, andTommy Tuberville.[16]
Donahue also served asathletic director,basketball coach, baseball coach, track coach, and soccer coach while at Auburn.[17]
In 1905, Donahue initiated the school's first official varsity basketball team, which went 3–1–1, including victories overGeorgia Tech andTulane, a two-point loss to the Columbus (Georgia) All-Stars, and a tie with the Birmingham Athletic Club. Under Donahue, basketball practice was a contact sport; a former player once lamented, "He never bothered calling fouls--said it slowed up the game."[18]
In 1912, he coached Auburn's first soccer team.[1] By the beginning of the 1915 season, Auburn was only playing athletic clubs and prep schools and had yet to participate in an intercollegiate match, due to a lack of soccer programs at other Southern colleges.[19]
Donahue went on to become the seventeenth head football coach atLSU in1923 and had a 23–19–3 record over five seasons before retiring from coaching after the1927 season.[20] The1924 team beatIndiana. The 1927 team tiedWallace Wade'sAlabama Crimson Tide.[21]
He also served briefly as the head coach of theLSU Tigers baseball team (1925–1926),[citation needed] compiling a record of 15–15–3, and as the headmen's tennis coach at LSU (1946–1947), tallying a mark of 0–7.[22] In 1944 and 1945, Donahue served as the head coach of theLSU Tigers golf team.
Donahue served as the athletic director atSpring Hill College from 1929 to 1936.[3] In 1931, Donahue assistedPat Browne with the football team at Spring Hill.[23] In 1934, Donahue reentered the active coaching ranks, when he was hired as head coach and mentored his son, Mike, Jr.[24]
Donahue died on December 11, 1960, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn Tigers(Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1904–1906) | |||||||||
| 1904 | Auburn | 5–0 | 4–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1905 | Auburn | 2–4 | 2–4 | 9th | |||||
| 1906 | Auburn | 1–5–1 | 0–5 | 16th | |||||
| Auburn Tigers(Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1908–1921) | |||||||||
| 1908 | Auburn | 6–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1909 | Auburn | 5–2 | 3–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1910 | Auburn | 6–1 | 6–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1911 | Auburn | 4–2–1 | 3–0–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1912 | Auburn | 6–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1913 | Auburn | 8–0 | 7–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1914 | Auburn | 8–0–1 | 5–0–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1915 | Auburn | 6–2 | 4–2 | 7th | |||||
| 1916 | Auburn | 6–2 | 5–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1917 | Auburn | 6–2–1 | 5–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1918 | Auburn | 2–5 | 0–2 | 11th | |||||
| 1919 | Auburn | 8–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1920 | Auburn | 7–2 | 3–2 | 8th | |||||
| 1921 | Auburn | 5–3 | 3–2 | 9th | |||||
| Auburn Tigers(Southern Conference)(1922) | |||||||||
| 1922 | Auburn | 8–2 | 2–1 | T–6th | |||||
| Auburn: | 99–35–5 | 65–26–3 | |||||||
| LSU Tigers(Southern Conference)(1923–1927) | |||||||||
| 1923 | LSU | 3–5–1 | 0–3 | 19th | |||||
| 1924 | LSU | 5–4 | 0–3 | T–19th | |||||
| 1925 | LSU | 5–3–1 | 0–2–1 | T–17th | |||||
| 1926 | LSU | 6–3 | 3–3 | T–10th | |||||
| 1927 | LSU | 4–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 11th | |||||
| LSU: | 23–19–3 | 5–14–2 | |||||||
| Spring Hill Badgers(Dixie Conference)(1934) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Spring Hill | 4–5 | 0–4 | 9th | |||||
| Spring Hill: | 4–5 | 0–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 133–59–8 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn Tigers(SIAA)(1905–1921) | |||||||||
| 1905–06 | Auburn | 5–1–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1906–07 | Auburn | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1907–08 | Auburn | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1908–09 | Auburn | 4–3 | |||||||
| 1909–10 | Auburn | 11–6 | |||||||
| 1910–11 | Auburn | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1911–12 | Auburn | 2–6 | |||||||
| 1912–13 | Auburn | 6–9 | |||||||
| 1913–14 | Auburn | 3–10 | |||||||
| 1914–15 | Auburn | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1915–16 | Auburn | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1916–17 | Auburn | 2–2 | |||||||
| 1917–18 | Auburn | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1918–19 | Auburn | 4–3 | |||||||
| 1919–20 | Auburn | 11–7 | |||||||
| 1920–21 | Auburn | 5–8 | |||||||
| Auburn: | 72–81 (.471) | ||||||||
| Total: | 72–81 (.471) | ||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU Tigers(Southern Conference)(1925–1926) | |||||||||
| 1925 | LSU | 5–9–2 | |||||||
| 1926 | LSU | 10–6–1 | |||||||
| LSU: | 15–15–3 (.500) | ||||||||
| Total: | 15–15–3 (.500) | ||||||||
mike donahue yale auburn.
