McGugin, Daniel E.
Football
b. July 29, 1879, Tingley, IA
d. Jan. 19, 1936
McGugin played football at Drake for one season, then transferred to the University of Michigan, where he was a starting guard in 1902 and 1903. His Michigan coach, "Hurry Up" Yost, later became a good friend and McGugin's brother-in-law. Yost was best man when McGugin married Virginia Fite. He met Virginia's sister, Eunice, at the wedding and married her a year later.
In 1904, McGugin became head coach at Vanderbilt. He remained there through the 1934 season, although he spent 1918 serving in World War I. Under McGugin, Vanderbilt became the first Southern school to play intersectional games.
Though coaching was only a part-time job--he was a successful corporation lawyer--McGugin produced some outstanding teams. His very first team won all 8 of its games, outscoring the opposition 452 to 4, and his 1910, 1921, and 1922 squads were unbeaten, though each had one tie.
A pioneer in the use of the forward pass, McGugin could motivate players in a quiet, soft-spoken way. Before the 1922 game against an unbeaten and heavily favored Michigan team, McGugin pointed to the military cemetery just outside Vanderbilt's football field. "In that cemetery sleep your grandfathers," he intoned and then, pointing to the Michigan players, he said, "and down on that field are the grandsons of the damn Yankees who put them there." The game ended in a scoreless tie.
In his 30 seasons at Vanderbilt, McGugin won 197 games, lost 55, and had 19 ties, a winning percentage of .762. He retired because of poor health and died two years later.