1. Donald LeRoy Doll, known as Don Burnside, was an American football player and coach.
57 Facts About Don Doll
1. 2.
Don Doll was selected to play in each of the first four Pro Bowls and was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1952 season Pro Bowl.
3.
Don Doll played safety on the 1952 Detroit Lions team that won the NFL championship.
4.
Don Doll tied an NFL record in 1949 with four interceptions in a single game and is the only player in NFL history to have 10 or more interceptions in each of three different seasons.
5.
Don Doll attended Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California, where he was an all-league quarterback.
6.
Don Doll was named Cal-Hi Sports State Player of the Year for football in 1943.
7.
Don Doll is one of only four Sacramento-area players to earn the honor.
8.
Don Doll played halfback for the USC Trojans from 1944 to 1948, though he did not play in 1945 while serving in the military.
9.
Don Doll led the team in receptions and scoring in 1948.
10.
Don Doll played the 1944 season under his birth name, Don Burnside.
11.
Don Doll played halfback on both offense and defense, intercepting a Bob Waterfield pass and returning it 16 yards to the UCLA 22-yard line.
12.
Don Doll played 43 minutes in the Rose Bowl and was the game's leading rusher.
13.
Los Angeles Times sports writer Braven Dyer wrote that Don Doll "shouldered the ball carrying burden almost single handedly" in the Rose Bowl.
14.
Don Doll was honorably discharged from the military in June 1946 and returned to USC in time for summer practice.
15.
Don Doll played at the left halfback position for the 1946 Trojans.
16.
In 1947, Don Doll added punting and punt and kickoff return duties to his role as a starting halfback.
17.
Don Doll started the Trojans' scoring against the Buckeyes with a 42-yard touchdown run around the left end in the first quarter.
18.
In 1948, Don Doll played his final season at the left halfback position for USC.
19.
Don Doll was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 9th round of the 1948 NFL draft and signed a one-year contract with the team in February 1949.
20.
Don Doll played as a defensive back for the Lions for four years from 1949 to 1952.
21.
Don Doll was selected as an All-Pro player in his first three seasons in the NFL.
22.
Don Doll was selected four times to play in the Pro Bowl.
23.
Don Doll still holds the record for most interception return yards by a rookie, and it is one of the oldest remaining records in the NFL.
24.
Don Doll led the NFL in 1949 with 536 kickoff return yards.
25.
Don Doll played safety on the 1952 Detroit Lions team that won the NFL championship.
26.
At the start of the 1953 NFL season, Don Doll was traded by the Lions to the Washington Redskins, where he played under head coach Curly Lambeau.
27.
Don Doll totaled 10 interceptions for the 1953 season, making him the first player in NFL history to tally at least 10 interceptions in each of three seasons.
28.
Don Doll remains the only player in NFL history to accomplish this feat in three seasons.
29.
Don Doll was selected for his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
30.
The Pro Bowl began with the 1950 NFL season, and Don Doll is one of the few players to have played in each of the first four Pro Bowls.
31.
In January 1954, Don Doll was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in a three-team, multi-player deal that sent Night Train Lane to the Chicago Cardinals.
32.
When he retired at the end of the 1954 season, Don Doll was the NFL's all-time career leader with 41 interceptions.
33.
Don Doll retired from playing football in 1955 and worked for the next 34 years as a football coach.
34.
In 1955, Don Doll was hired as an assistant coach at the University of Washington under head coach John Cherberg.
35.
Don Doll was put in charge of defensive backs for the Huskies.
36.
In 1956, Don Doll accepted a head coaching position at West Contra Costa Junior College.
37.
Don Doll served as an assistant on the College All-Star coaching staff in 1957 and 1958.
38.
In February 1959, Don Doll was hired by Notre Dame as its backfield coach under head coach Joe Kuharich.
39.
Don Doll was Notre Dame's backfield coach throughout Kuharich's tenure which ended after the 1962 season.
40.
In January 1963, Don Doll was hired by the Detroit Lions as their defensive backfield coach.
41.
Don Doll remained the Lions' defensive backfield coach through the 1963 and 1964 NFL seasons.
42.
In January 1965, Don Doll was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive backfield coach under head coach Harland Svare.
43.
In 1966, Don Doll was hired as an assistant coach for the Washington Redskins under head coach Otto Graham.
44.
Don Doll remained with Redskins as the defensive backfield coach for five years and through three head coaches.
45.
Don Doll served as an assistant coach under Lombardi during the 1969 NFL season, which was Lombardi's last as a coach.
46.
Don Doll served under Redskins' head coach Bill Austin in 1970.
47.
In February 1971, Don Doll was hired as defensive backfield coach for the Green Bay Packers under head coach Dan Devine.
48.
Don Doll remained with the Packers for three years from 1971 to 1973.
49.
In January 1974, the Packers announced that Don Doll had resigned "because of personal problems", but it was later revealed that he was fired by Devine due to a personality conflict and disagreements over defensive strategy.
50.
In February 1974, after undergoing hip surgery, Don Doll was hired by the Baltimore Colts as defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
51.
Don Doll served in Baltimore under head coaches Howard Schnellenberger and Joe Thomas.
52.
Don Doll served as the Dolphins' linebackers coach during the 1975 and 1976 NFL seasons.
53.
In February 1977, Don Doll was hired as a special assignments coach with the San Francisco 49ers.
54.
In February 1978, Don Doll returned to the Detroit Lions as special teams coach and film coordinator.
55.
Don Doll was married in the early 1950s to Diana Davies, a graduate of UCLA.
56.
Don Doll died at his home in San Juan Capistrano in September 2010 at age 84.
57.
Don Doll was survived by his wife Diana, five children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.