Dukes Duford
{{Short description|American college football player, coach, and university athletic director (1898–1981)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Dukes Duford
| image = Dukes Duford.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Duford during his tenure at Saint Louis
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|6|11}}
| birth_place = Menomonie, Wisconsin, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|5|8|1898|6|11}}
| death_place = Clayton, Missouri, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| player_sport1 = Football
| player_years2 = 1921–1923
| player_team2 = Marquette
| player_years3 = 1924
| player_team3 = Green Bay Packers
| player_positions = Halfback
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1929–1930
| coach_team2 = St. Mary's (KS)
| coach_years3 = 1931–1939
| coach_team3 = St. Ambrose
| coach_years4 = 1940–1947
| coach_team4 = Saint Louis
| coach_sport5 = Basketball
| coach_years6 = 1931–1939
| coach_team6 = St. Ambrose
| coach_years7 = 1944–1945
| coach_team7 = Saint Louis
| admin_years1 = 1940-1947
| admin_team1 = Saint Louis
| overall_record = 92–50–9 (football)
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships = Football
1 Iowa Conference (1937)
| awards =
| coaching_records =
}}
Wilfred Joseph "Dukes" Duford (June 11, 1898 – May 8, 1981) was an American college football player, coach, and university athletic director. He was the head football coach at Saint Louis University, Saint Ambrose University, and the University of Saint Mary (Kansas).
Biography
Duford was born on June 11, 1898, in Menomonie, Wisconsin.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DufoDu20.htm Dukes Duford], Pro Football Reference, retrieved June 24, 2010. Duford attended Niagara High School{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110610103007/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DUFORDUK01 Dukes Duford]}}, Database Football, retrieved July 1, 2010. and Marquette University, where he played football, baseball, and basketball.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120711210651/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NCEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4SoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6734,1914789&dq=dukes-duford&hl=en A miss and a tip]}}, The Milwaukee Journal, December 13, 1979. Duford lettered in basketball from 1921 to 1923.[http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030606aai.html All-Time Letterwinners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208161356/http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030606aai.html |date=2010-02-08 }}, Marquette University, retrieved June 25, 2010. He graduated in 1924.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130124200743/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k2ExAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZyIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2732,5977130&dq=dukes-duford&hl=en St. Louis Signs Dukes Duford; Marquette Graduate Given Long Contract Because of St. Ambrose Record]}}, The Milwaukee Journal, January 31, 1940.
After college, he played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) for one season with the Green Bay Packers. He saw action in three games in 1924 as a halfback.
Duford began his college football coaching career with a two-year stint at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas. He then moved on to Saint Ambrose University in Iowa, where he coached from 1931 to 1939. During his tenure there, Saint Ambrose posted a 60–10–7 record.
Impressed by his winning record, St. Ambrose University signed Duford to a multi-year contract as its football coach. Duford served as both the head football coach and athletic director at Saint Louis from 1940 to 1947.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130124124704/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ax8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6ycEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1470,1267370&dq=billikens+athletic-director&hl=en Former Coach Duford Named By St. Louis]}}, The Milwaukee Journal, June 3, 1967. He also served as the basketball coach for the 1944–45 season and posted an 11–6 record.[http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stlo/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/BillikenCoaches.pdf Billiken Coaches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112120811/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stlo/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/BillikenCoaches.pdf |date=2012-11-12 }} (PDF), 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 128, Saint Louis University, 2007. Duford and his staff resigned from Saint Louis after the 1947 season in which the football team amassed a 4–6 record.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jDAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5118,2962514&dq=dukes-duford&hl=en Dukes Duford Out As Billikens Coach] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701214701/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jDAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5118,2962514&dq=dukes-duford&hl=en |date=2016-07-01 }}, December 6, 1947. In his autobiography, Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Bob Broeg called Duford his "candidate for the most noble coach of all."Bob Broeg, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VAP79DnqTMcC Bob Broeg: Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter], p. 148, 1995, {{ISBN|1-57167-010-6}}.
In 1966, Duford was working as the Commissioner of the St. Louis Council on Human Relations,[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0710FB3F5F137A93C2AB1782D85F428685F9 HOUSING EQUALITY HITS A RAW NERVE; In St. Louis, as in Other Big Cities, the Idea of a Negro Neighbor Stirs Anxiety], The New York Times, September 20, 1966. which was set up to facilitate racial integration of the city.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1YUwkHciXIC Victory without violence: the first ten years of the St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality (CORE), 1947-1957], p. 86, 2003, {{ISBN|0-8262-1303-0}}. Duford returned to Saint Louis University as its interim athletic director in 1967. Duford was inducted into the Saint Louis University's Billiken Hall of Fame in 1995.[http://www.slubillikens.com/boosters/stlo-boosters-hof-members.html Billiken Hall of Fame Members] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716092444/http://www.slubillikens.com/boosters/stlo-boosters-hof-members.html |date=July 16, 2011 }}, Saint Louis University, retrieved July 1, 2010.
Duford died at his Missouri home in 1981 of a heart ailment."Ex-SLU director dies", Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tuesday, May 12, 1981, Tokyo, Japan, Japan
Head coaching record
=Football=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = St. Mary's Irish
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1929
| endyear = 1930
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1929
| name = St. Mary's
| overall = 2–5–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1930
| name = St. Mary's
| overall = 6–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = St. Mary's
| overall = 8–8–2
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = St. Ambrose Saints / Fighting Bees
| conf = Iowa Conference
| startyear = 1931
| endyear = 1939
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1931
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 9–1
| conference = 6–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1932
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 5–1–2
| conference = 5–1–1
| confstanding = 7th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1933
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 4–4
| conference = 4–2
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1934
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 6–2
| conference = 5–0
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1935
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 7–1
| conference = 4–0
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1936
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 8–0–1
| conference = 4–0–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1937
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 8–0
| conference = 5–0
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1938
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 7–0–1
| conference = 3–0
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1939
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 6–1–1
| conference = 2–0
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = St. Ambrose
| overall = 60–10–5
| confrecord = 38–4–2
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Saint Louis Billikens
| conf = Missouri Valley Conference
| startyear = 1940
| endyear = 1947
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1940
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 3–6–1
| conference = 2–3
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1941
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 4–5–1
| conference = 1–3–1
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1942
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 4–5
| conference = 2–3
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1943
| name = No team—World War II
| overall =
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1944
| name = No team—World War II
| overall =
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1945
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 5–4
| conference = 0–1
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1946
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 4–6
| conference = 1–1
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1947
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 4–6
| conference = 1–1
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 24–32–2
| confrecord = 7–12–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 92–50–9
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
}}
=Basketball=
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Saint Louis Billikens
| conference = Missouri Valley Conference
| startyear = 1944
| endyear = 1945
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| season = 1944–45
| name = Saint Louis
| overall = 10–4
| conference = {{ref label|A|Note A}}
| confstanding = {{ref label|A|Note A}}
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{Winning percentage|10|4|record=y}}
| legend = no
}}
: {{note|A|A.}}The MVC also cancelled the season due to World War II.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Footballstats |nfl=dukes-duford |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=D/DufoDu20 |rotoworld= }}
- {{Find a Grave}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{Saint Mary Spires football coach navbox}}
{{St. Ambrose Fighting Bees football coach navbox}}
{{Saint Louis Billikens athletic director navbox}}
{{Saint Louis Billikens football coach navbox}}
{{Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball coach navbox}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duford, Dukes}}
Category:American football halfbacks
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Green Bay Packers players
Category:Marquette Golden Avalanche football players
Category:Saint Louis Billikens athletic directors
Category:Saint Louis Billikens football coaches
Category:Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball coaches
Category:Saint Mary Spires football coaches
Category:St. Ambrose Fighting Bees football coaches
Category:St. Ambrose Fighting Bees men's basketball coaches
Category:People from Menomonie, Wisconsin
Category:Coaches of American football from Wisconsin
Category:Players of American football from Wisconsin
Category:Baseball players from Wisconsin
Category:Basketball coaches from Wisconsin
Category:Basketball players from Wisconsin