| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 19, 1902 Shellsburg, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 1973 (aged 71) Rochester, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1941–1942 | Iowa State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 3–8–1 |
Ray Oliver Donels (March 19, 1902 – April 15, 1973) was an American football coach. He served as head football coach at Iowa State University from 1941 until midway through the 1942 season, compiling a record of 3–8–1. He resigned on October 14, 1942.[1]
Donels was coach of the Iowa State freshman football and basketball teams for the 1938 season. As the football coach with Kenny Wells at Ames High School, the Little Cyclones won every game in its 1937 fall season schedule. Donels also coached the Ames High boys basketball team for nine seasons from 1929 until 1938, compiling a 127–65 overall record. Ames won the 1936 state championship under Donels' direction.
Donels was born in Shellsburg, Iowa. He attended Iowa State as an undergraduate in the class of 1928. He became a brother of Delta Chi Fraternity on October 13, 1923, when the fraternity chapter celebrated its chartering at Iowa State. Donels died on April 15, 1973, at a hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.[2]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State Cyclones (Big Six Conference) (1941–1942) | |||||||||
| 1941 | Iowa State | 2–6–1 | 0–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1942 | Iowa State | 1–2[n 1] | 0–1[n 1] | [n 1] | |||||
| Iowa State: | 3–8–1 | 0–5–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 3–8–1 | ||||||||
Notes
- ^ a b c Donels resigned after three games. Mike Michalske served as head coach for the final six games of the season. Iowa State finished the 1942 season with an overall record of 3–6 and tied for the fifth place in the conference with a mark of 1–4.[3]
References
- ^ Wire service, "Iowa State's Coach Offers Resignation", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Thursday 15 October 1942, Volume 49, page 13.
- ^ "Former ISU Boss Ray Donels Dead". La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. Associated Press. April 16, 1973. p. 17. Retrieved July 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ Edson, Art (October 15, 1942). "New Coach Named for the Cyclones; Ray Donels Steps Down and 'Mike' Michalske Assumes the Task; Preparing for Drake". Lawrence Journal-World. Lawrence, Kansas. Retrieved July 10, 2016 – via Google News.
 | This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
