Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

This collection covers the life of Doyt Perry, 1929-1992. Its primary focus is on his BGSU coaching career. The material, 35 linear feet, is separated into record groups and is arranged chronologically or by subject. This collection consists of correspondence, football films, photos (positive and negative), newspaper articles, scrapbooks, transcribed and taped interviews, audio and video recordings, football programs, and coaching manuals. Much of the material was utilized for "Doyt Perry: A Coach for Life", a documentary produced by Shawn Brady of WBGU - TV, May 1998. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection. Duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and research.

Biographical Sketch

Doyt Perry was a football coach, teacher, husband and father. His career as a football coach was marked with more wins than losses and he holds one of the best college coaching records in the nation. He was well known and well loved among the college football community. A documentary as well as the many displays of his achievements at several halls of fame has immortalized his life. He left his mark on the football traditions at Bowling Green State University, as well as many universities across the nation and college football coaches.

Doyt Perry was born on January 6, 1910, in Croton, Ohio. He attended Bowling Green State University from 1928 until 1932. While at BGSU he received his degree in Secondary Education and lettered in three sports, football, basketball, and baseball. His high school coaching and teaching career began in 1933 at Lorain Clearview High School and ended in 1952 at Upper Arlington High School. His high school coaching career was interrupted briefly between 1944 and 1946 while he served in the United States Navy.

His college football-coaching career began in 1952. At this time Woody Hayes, the head coach at Ohio State University, hired Perry as an assistant. He was a coach at OSU between 1952 and 1954. While an assistant coach at OSU, Perry became friends with Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. He also was on the coaching staff when OSU won the 1954 Rose Bowl.

He became the head coach of Bowling Green State University in 1955. He remained at this post until 1964, when he retired and became the Athletic Director of BGSU, a position he held until 1970. During his football-coaching career at BGSU he established a winning record of 77-11-5, one of the best in the nation. From 1955 until 1964 he produced six Mid American Conference championship teams. He officially retired from BGSU in 1970 and became Athletic Coordinator at Florida International University. After a lengthy illness he returned to Bowling Green where he died of natural causes in 1992. He was named Ohio coach of the year, UPI's coach of the week, inducted into several halls of fame, and in 1992 the BGSU stadium was dedicated as the Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

Scope and Content

The Doyt Perry Collection reflects the life of Doyt Perry. The collection covers the period from 1929-1992 with emphasis on his BGSU coaching career. In this collection there are newspaper articles, photos, taped and transcribed interviews, scrapbooks, programs, football films, profiles of players, coaches and administration, correspondence, and audio and video recordings.

The collection has its strengths and weaknesses. The collection lacks any information on Perry's childhood and high school experience. The information about his college student career is incomplete, but there are several photographs and newspaper articles about his athletic career. There is very little information on his career in the Navy. Correspondence is minimal. There are letters and telegrams to Perry from coaches and other well wishers, but there are very few letters written by Perry himself. Existing correspondence focuses on his hiring by BGSU, letters to other football coaches, and letters giving Perry encouragement on upcoming games.

The strength of the collection lies in the information covering the years between 1955 and 1964. It is during this time that Perry was the football coach at BGSU. There is a significant amount of photographs, football programs, football films, newspaper articles, and interviews that focus on his BGSU coaching career. Information about Doyt Perry between 1964 and 1992 is also plentiful. There are numerous articles, interviews, photographs, and audio and video recordings that help to tell the Coach's story.

This collection is useful to researchers that are studying Doyt Perry's life, as well as those interested in BGSU, college football, or college football coaching. This collection will allow a researcher to understand college football at Bowling Green State University as well as in a more general sense, nationally, during the 1950's and 1960's.

Note: Original football films and photographic materials have been transferred to the CAC's Preservation vault for preservation. Access is available within twenty-four hours.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO DOYT PERRY
1935, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964
Arranged chronologically
Contains information about the hiring of Perry by BGSU, as well as letters of congratulations and encouragement. Note: More correspondence is located in the BGSU Athletic Department files

SUBJECT FILES

PROFILES
Information was gathered between 1996 and 1998
Arranged alphabetically contains timelines and biographical sketches about various football players, coaches, family and college administrators

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

FOOTBALL MANUALS
c.1953
Doyt Perry's Ohio State University football manual contains information gathered by Perry during his time at OSU

FOOTBALL MANUALS
c.1955-1964
Box 36
Doyt Perry's "good" book contains his "rules and expectations" for football players and coaches

SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS

SCRAPBOOKS
Two blue scrapbooks titled "Clippings" kept by Loretta and Doyt Perry covers Perry's high school and college coaching career (photocopy)

SCRAPBOOKS
Two Doyt Perry scrapbooks cover Perry's high school and college coaching career (photocopy)

SCRAPBOOK
William Earhart's scrapbook contains articles on BGSU football in the early 1960's as well as Earhart's pro-football career (photocopy)

SCRAPBOOK
Large scrapbook covers BGSU football during the 1950's and 1960's (photocopy)

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE CLIPPINGS
1929 - 1992
Arranged chronologically
Articles cover Doyt Perry's coaching career at both the high school and college level, time as BGSU athletic director, move to Florida International University, retirement, induction into halls of fame, death and stadium dedication

PRINTED MATERIAL

PROGRAMS
1955-1966, 1970, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
Arranged chronologically
BGSU football programs (this is not a complete set)

FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDES
1956-1964
Arranged chronologically
Contains information on coaches, players, rosters, and opposing teams, as well as team statistics (photocopied)

YEARBOOKS
1930 - 1932
BGSU yearbooks, copies of information about Doyt Perry and BGSU football have been copied and added to the collection, original yearbooks can be found at the CAC

YEARBOOKS
1933-1942
Lorain-Clearview H.S. yearbooks, in this collection there are copies made of these yearbooks that only contain information on Doyt Perry, the originals of these yearbooks can be found at the Lorain Public Library

YEARBOOKS
1943, 1947-1951
Upper-Arlington H.S. yearbooks, these yearbooks are photocopies of the originals, they only contain information on Doyt Perry, the original yearbooks can be found at the Upper Arlington Public Library

YEARBOOKS
1952-1954
Ohio State University, photocopies of these yearbooks in the CAC collection are sparse, the originals can be found at OSU or the Columbus Public Library

MISSION STATEMENT
1996
Mission statement for the 1996-1998 Doyt Perry Documentary Project conducted by the Center for Archival Collections

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Compiled between 1996 and 1998
Contains a timeline of Doyt Perry's life, as well as biographical sketches written by various people, there is also several biographical information forms filled out by Doyt Perry for the BGSU Athletic Department

TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEWS
Interviews done between 1996 and 1998
Transcribed from taped interviews conducted by the CAC contain information on Doyt Perry and BGSU football straight from players, coaches, family members, friends and BGSU administration

PUBLICATION FILE - DOYT PERRY PROJECT PUBLIC RELATIONS
1996-1998
Box 37
Contain items used during the Doyt Perry project for communication, such as envelopes, invitations, etc.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS
1919 - 1992
Arranged by dates and within each date arranged by subject
Wide variety of photos showing Doyt Perry and football in various eras (Note: negatives can be found in the University Archives and the News Service, under UA-3e and NS year # - neg# respectively - the number of the negative is written on the back of the photo - both the University Archives and the News Service are located in the CAC)

AUDIO/VISUAL MATERIALS

AUDIO RECORDINGS
1990's
Three tapes of Doyt Perry and his memorial service

VIDEO RECORDINGS
1992 - 1998
Various videos of Doyt Perry's memorial service, golf outings, documentaries, and taped interviews

VIDEO RECORDINGS
1996 - 1998
Arranged alphabetically
Taped interviews interviews were conducted by the CAC and involved past coaches, players, administration, and family

FILMS
1930 - 1964
Arranged chronologically
BGSU football films (this is not a complete set, but does highlight BGSU's football)

Inventory

Box 1

Folder - Correspondence

1. Letter from Circleville Public School to Doyt Perry, May 8, 1935
2. Correspondence to Doyt Perry or concerning Doyt Perry, 1956
3. Correspondence to Doyt Perry or concerning Doyt Perry, 1958
4. Correspondence to Doyt Perry or concerning Doyt Perry, 1959
5. Correspondence to Doyt Perry or concerning Doyt Perry, 1960
6. Correspondence to Doyt Perry or concerning Doyt Perry, 1964

Note: A more complete collection of Doyt Perry Letters can be found in the Athletic Department files located at the Center for Archival Collections. The following boxes and folders are a good place to begin a search:

Profiles

1. Andrews, James
2. Ankney, Moe
3. Bellard, Bruce
4. Berndt, Jerry
5. Blackledge, Ronald
6. Broyles, Frank
7. Casey, Bernie
8. Cochrane, Mickey
9. Colaner, Tom
10. Colburn, Bobby
11. Cook, Don
12. Comer, Charles
13. Cunningham, Don
14. Cunningham, Jay
15. DeOrio, Vic
16. Dudley, Bob
17. Elliott, Fred
18. Ferkany, Ed
19. Gilbert, Fox

Box 2

Folder - Profiles

1. Galyas, John
2. Gibson, Bob
3. Giroux, Jack
4. Goings, Jim
5. Gunlock, Bill
6. Harbaugh, Jack
7. Hecker, Jack
8. Hoag, Robert
9. Hof, James
10. Holtz, Lou
11. Janeway, Brian
12. Jerome, William
13. Jeter, Dave
14. Kisselle, Tom
15. Kwiatkowski, Ray
16. Lessig, James
17. McFadyen, Donald
18. Mallory, Bill
19. Minor, Dan
20. Murnen, Tim
21. Nehlen, Don
22. Nelson, David
23. Newsome, Richard
24. Parseghian, Ara
25. Perry-McClain, Judy
26. Perry, Dave
27. Perry, D.L.
28. Perry, Doyt
29. Perry, Loretta
30. Pont, John
31. Ramsay, Chuck
32. Ruehl, Jim
33. Simmons, Bob
34. Schaller, William

Box 3

Folder

1. Schembechler, Bo
2. Schoeni, Ken
3. Sharp, Glenn
4. Sims, Tom Jr.
5. Small, Richard (Duke)
6. Smith, Larry
7. Violet, Bill
8. Weger, Mike
9. Williams, Stew
10. Young, Richard
11. Zimpfer, Robert
12. Football manual: Doyt Perry's "Good Book" - photocopy of his football rules for players and coaches
13. Football manual: Doyt Perry's Football manual from Ohio State University (as given by Francis Schmidt) c.1953

Box 4

Folder - Scrapbooks (photocopies)

1. Blue scrapbooks titled "Clippings"
2. Doyt Perry scrapbooks with his initials on cover
3. William Earhart's scrapbook
4. Large scrapbook

Box 5

Folder - News clippings

1. Doyt Perry's college career, 1929-1932
2. Stadium articles, 1936
3. Lorain-Clearview High School, 1933-1943
4. Upper Arlington High School, 1943, 1947-1951
5. Doyt Perry's Career at OSU, 1952-1954
6. Bowling Green State University, 1955
7. Bowling Green State University, 1956
8. Bowling Green State University, 1957
9. Bowling Green State University, 1958
10. Bowling Green State University, 1959
11. Bowling Green State University, 1960
12. Bowling Green State University, 1961
13. Bowling Green State University, 1962
14. Bowling Green State University, 1963
15. Bowling Green State University, 1964
16. Bowling Green State University, 1965
17. Bowling Green State University, 1966
18. OSU vs. Michigan game, Nov. 1969
19. Various articles, 1970
20. Various articles, 1971
21. Various articles, 1972
22. Various articles, 1973
23. Various articles, 1974
24. Various articles, 1975
25. Various articles, 1976
26. Various articles, 1977
27. Various articles, 1978
28. Various articles, 1980
29. Various articles, 1981
30. Various articles, 1985
31. Various articles, 1987
32. Various articles, 1988
33. Various articles, 1989
34. Sports Detroit Magazine (Bo Schembechler article), 1989
35. Various articles, 1991
36. Articles covering Perry's death and stadium dedication, 1992
37. Columbus Unforgettable Vol. III, 1992
38. Perry family articles, Perry's death, and stadium dedication, 1992

Box 6: Printed Material

Box 7: Transcribed interviews

Folder

1. Ankney, Moe
2. Bellard, Bruce
3. Berndt, Jerry
4. Cochrane, Mickey
5. Colaner, Tom
6. Colburn, Bobby
7. Cunningham, Don
8. Cunningham, Jay
9. DeOrio, Vic
10. Dudley, Bob
11. Elliott, Fred
12. Ferkany, Ed
13. Galyas, John
14. Gibson, Bob
15. Giroux, Jack
16. Gunlock, Bill
17. Harbaugh, Jack
18. Hoag, Bob
19. Jerome, William
20. Kisselle, Tom
21. Lessig, Jim
22. Minor, Dan
23. Murnen, Tim
24. Nehlen, Don
25. Perry, Chuck
26. Perry, D.L.
27. Perry, David
28. Perry, Judy
29. Perry, Loretta
30. Ruehl, Jim
31. Schembechler, Bo
32. Schoeni, Ken
33. Sharp, Glenn
34. Sims, Tom Jr.
35. Smith, Larry
36. Violet, Bill
37. Weger, Mike
38. Williams, Stew
39. Zimpfer, Robert

Box 8: Positive photographic material

Folder

1. Trophies - various photos of trophies won by BGSU during the 1950's and 1960's
2. Stadium - photos of both the old (1937 - 1966) and the new (1966 - ) BGSU stadium, during the building and after the completion of it
3. Script "Doyt" and "Perry"
4. Photos of Pres. McDonald
5. Fred Elliott
6. Tom Kisselle
7. Bobby Colburn
8. Ridge Street School - c. 1919
9. 20's football pictures
10. 1929 - Yearbook pictures from Doyt Perry's college days
11. 1930 - Yearbook pictures from Doyt Perry's college days
12. 1931 - Yearbook pictures from Doyt Perry's college days
13. Stadium Club
14. 1933 - Lorain - Clearview High School
15. 1936 - Lorain - Clearview High School
16. 1937 - Lorain - Clearview High School
17. 1938 - Lorain - Clearview High School
18. 1940 - Lorain - Clearview High School
19. 1941 - Lorain - Clearview High School
20. 1942 - Lorain - Clearview High School
21. 1943 - Upper Arlington High School
22. 1946 - Upper Arlington High School
23. 1947 - Upper Arlington High School
24. 1948 - Upper Arlington High School
25. 1949 - Upper Arlington High School
26. 1950 - Upper Arlington High School
27. Ohio State University Football staff - 1952 - 1954
28. Ohio State University - Bill Hess
29. 1951 - BGSU football team photo
30. 1952 - BGSU football team photo
31. 1953 - BGSU football team photo
32. 1954 - BGSU football team photo
33. 1955 - Perry on sidelines
34. 1955 - Perry with others
35. 1955 - Game action
36. 1955 - Bo Schembechler
37. 1955 - Players
38. 1955 - Coaching staff
39. 1955 - Team photos
40. 1955 - Celebration
41. 1955 - Sidelines
42. 1955 - Locker room
43. 1955 - Misc. football activities - band, crowd, cheerleaders
44. 1956 - Doyt with others
45. 1956 - Game action
46. 1956 - Perry on sidelines
47. 1956 - Celebration
48. 1956 - Locker room
49. 1956 - Coaching staff
50. 1956 - Al Sawdy
51. 1956 - Team practice
52. 1956 - Vic DeOrio
53. 1956 - Ed Ferkany
54. 1956 - Jack Giroux
55. 1956 - Tim Murnen
56. 1956 - Don Nehlen
57. 1956 - Bob Zimpfer
58. 1956 - Various players
59. 1957 - Coaching staff
60. 1957 - Game night - Delaware game
61. 1957 - Player and coaches
62. 1957 - Game action
63. 1957 - Perry - portraits
64. 1957 - Team pictures
65. 1957 - Sidelines - coaches
66. 1957 - Sidelines - players
67. 1958 - Team practice
68. 1958 - Coaching staff
69. 1958 - Sidelines
70. 1958 - Game action
71. 1958 - Team photo
72. 1958 - Stadium club
73. 1958 - Players
74. 1959 - Perry - portraits
75. 1959 - Perry with others
76. 1959 - Game action
77. 1959 - Perry on sidelines
78. 1959 - Bob Dudley
79. 1959 - Jim Ruehl
80. 1959 - Locker room/ celebration
81. 1959 - Team photo
82. 1959 - Coaching staff
83. 1959 - Players and players with coaches
84. 1959 - Larry Smith
85. 1959 - Bernie Casey
86. 1959 - Misc. football activity - band, crowds, cheerleaders
87. 1960 - Coaching staff
88. 1960 - Game action
89. 1960 - Sidelines
90. 1960 - Bernie Casey
91. 1960 - Jack Hecker
92. 1960 - Larry Smith
93. 1960 - Team photo
94. 1960 - Players with coaches
95. 1960 - Celebration
96. 1960 - Misc. Football activity - band, cheerleaders
97. 1961 - Larry Smith
98. 1961 - Bill Violet
99. 1961 - Game action
100. 1961 - Coaching staff
101. 1961 - Players
102. 1961 - Team photo
103. 1961 - Crowd
104. 1961 - Mercy Bowl
105. 1961 - Sidelines
106. 1961 - Judy Perry

Box 9: Positive photographic material

Folder

1. 1962 - Game action
2. 1962 - Sidelines with Perry
3. 1962 - Moe Ankney
4. 1962 - Players
5. 1962 - Team photo
6. 1962 - Celebration - field, gym, locker room
7. 1962 - Coaching staff
8. 1962 - Misc. Football activity - band, crowds
9. 1962 - Team practice
10. 1962 - Others: equipment managers, Athletic Director
11. 1962 - Perry with others
12. 1963 - Game action
13. 1963 - D. Perry
14. 1963 - Coaching staff
15. 1963 - Glenn Sharp
16. 1963 - Practice
17. 1963 - Pre-game activity
18. 1963 - Sidelines
19. 1963 - Jay Cunningham
20. 1963 - Tom Sims Jr.
21. 1963 - Bill Violet
22. 1963 - Players
23. 1963 - Misc. Football activity - crowds, cheerleaders, band
24. 1964 - Game action
25. 1964 - Team photos
26. 1964 - Sidelines
27. 1964 - Misc. Football activity - mascot (Freddy Falcon)
28. 1964 - Glenn Sharp
29. 1964 - Mike Weger
30. 1964 - Jay Cunningham
31. 1964 - Stew Williams
32. 1964 - Coaching staff
33. 1964 - Players
34. 1964 - Team practice
35. 1965 - Game action
36. 1966 - Doyt Perry Day/ Field dedication
37. 1966 - Game action
38. 1970's - various photos of Doyt Perry as Athletic Director and during his retirement
39. 1988 - photos of Doyt Perry's induction into various halls of fame (includes photos from Chuck Perry)
40. 1992 - photos of stadium dedication
41. Portraits of Doyt Perry
42. Portrait of Doyt Perry sleeping with pipe in mouth and broom in hand
43. Chuck Perry - Negatives and prints of BG News articles
44. Sports Illustrated photographs (8x11)
45. Sports Illustrated photographs (8x14)
46. Photocopy of pictures used in the project (duplicates of those in the collection)
47. Photocopy of images of Doyt Perry and others (duplicates of those in the collection)

Note: The negatives for these photographs can be found in the University Archives or the News Service files. On the back of the photograph there is a negative number. Those found in the University Archives will have UA-3e or UA-PH and the year as the identification mark. Those found in the News Service files will have NS year # - neg. #. Both the University Archives and the New Service files are located at the CAC.

Box 10: (Oversize Flat) Oversized photographs (positive)

Athletic Department - Physical Education - Men's Division - Group photo

• 1956-1957
• 1962-1963
• 1963-1964
• 1965-1966
• 1968-1969
• 1969-1970

Football action shots

• 1959 Action shot (Bernie Casey and Bob Colburn) UA PH 3e
• Football action shot - no date
• Football action shot - no date
• Action shot UA PH 3e (#15 - BG)
• Action shot - unidentified
• Action shot (#11 and #22) n.d. UA PH 3e
• Action shot (#15 and #78) n.d. UA PH 3e
• Action shot (#70, #27, #65) n.d. UA PH 3e
• N.D. action shot (#35) UA PH 3e
• N.D. Action shot (#35, 53, 75)UA PH 3e(2)
• Action shot n.d. UA PH 3e
• Action shot n.d. (#41) UA PH 3e
• Action shot n.d. (#35, 82) UA PH 3e
• Action shot n.d. (#35) UA PH 3e

Box 11: Audio and Video Recordings

Audio

• Doyt Perry #1 and #2 - original tapes
• First United Methodist Church - Doyt Perry funeral 2/14/92

Video

• Memories of Doyt - 1992
• Misc. WBGU film - Dick Young, Mike Weger, WBGU - Tower, Hockey, Track, n.d.
• Channel #1 - "Doyt Perry" 2/11/92
• Bob Colburn
• Assorted Highlights - Anderson/Thurmond Induction Naismith Hall of Fame
• Highlights of 1982 - MAC Champion BGSU Football w/ Bowl highlights
• Doyt Perry Documentary: BGSU aerials taken on day of BGSU vs. Miami's football game
• (taken from shaky helicopter - Jose Cardenas) - 1a and 2a. (two tapes).
• "The Locker Room": Larry Smith, Don Nehlen, Bo Schembechler, Jack Harbaugh interviews for Fox 67 WHOL - TV Lima
• Jerome, William (2 videos)
• Young, Dick (2 videos)
• Mallory, Bill (1 video)
• Hof, Jim (1 video)
• Gibson, Bob (1 video)

Box 13: Football films - 1930's

Box 14: Football films - 1940's

Box 15: Football films - 1950-1954

Box 16: Football films - 1955

Box 17: Football films - 1956

Box 18: Football films - 1957

Box 19: Football films - 1958

Box 20: Football films - 1959