George Doherty

{{Short description|American football player, coach, and administrator (1920–1987)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = George Doherty

| image = George Doherty 1967.jpg

| caption = George Doherty, c. 1967

| number = 38, 33, 44

| position = Guard
Tackle

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|9|5}}

| birth_place = Camden, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|12|31|1920|9|5}}

| death_place = Natchitoches, Louisiana, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lb = 218

| high_school = Canton
(Canton, Mississippi)

| college = Louisiana Tech

| draftyear = 1944

| draftround = 20

| draftpick = 199

| pastteams = * Brooklyn Tigers ({{NFL Year|1944}})

| pastcoaching = * Louisiana Tech (1958–1966)
Assistant

Northwestern State (1967–1971)
Assistant
Northwestern State (1972–1974)
Head coach

| pastadmin = * Northwestern State (1972–1978)
Athletic director

| statleague = NFL/AAFC

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 43

| statlabel2 = Games started

| statvalue2 = 29

| pfr = DoheGe20

}}

George Edward Doherty (September 5, 1920 – December 31, 1987) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

Early life

Doherty was born in Mississippi in 1920 and attended Canton High School in Canton, Mississippi. He played college football at Louisiana Tech University. During World War II, he served in the military.

Playing career

Doherty played professional football as a Guard and tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Tigers in 1944 and the Boston Yanks in 1945. He then jumped to the All-America Football Conference (AFFC), playing for the Buffalo Bisons and New York Yankees in 1946 and for the Buffalo Bills in 1947. He appeared in 43 professional football games, 29 of them as a starter.{{Cite web |title=George Doherty Stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DoheGe20.htm |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |accessdate=February 29, 2020}}

Coaching career

File:Louisiana Tech football coaching team of 1966 IMG 2015063 0001.jpg coaches: from left, head coach Joe Aillet and assistants George Doherty, Jim Mize, A. Huey Williamson, E. J. Lewis, and Lee Hedges]]

Doherty served as an assistant football coach at Louisiana Tech (1958–1966) and Northwestern State University (1967–1971).{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1967 |title=Tech's George Doherty Joins NSC Staff as Defensive Aide |page=2D |work=The Shreveport Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45881070/techs-george-doherty-joins-nsc-staff/ |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=July 23, 1972 |title=NSU's George Doherty: 15-Year Wait Is Over |page=6D |work=The Shreveport Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45880749/nsus-george-doherty-15-year-wait-is/}} He became the head coach at Northwestern State in 1972 and held that post through the 1974 season, compiling a record of 15–17 in three seasons.

Later life

Doherty died of a heart attack in 1987 in Natchitoches, Louisiana.{{Cite news |date=January 2, 1988 |title=Services for former NSU grid coach today |page=2 |work=the Town Talk |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45880060/obituary-for-george-doherty-aged-67/ |via=Newspapers.com}}