Donald Francis Shula (born January 4, 1930) is a former professional American football coach and player who is best known as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, with whom he won the 1968 NFL Championship. Shula was drafted out of John Carroll University in the 1951 NFL Draft, and he played professionally as a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and Washington Redskins. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Shula was born in Grand River, Ohio, a small town along the Lake Erie shore in the northeastern part of the state. His parents, Dan and Mary, were of Hungarian origin, having immigrated when they were children. Shula's father Dan worked for $9 a week at a rose nursery and saved up to buy the small house where Shula spent his early childhood. The house was next door to a grocery store in Grand River owned by Mary's parents. Shula played football in his neighborhood as a child, but his parents forbade it after he got a gash on his face when he was 11. As Shula's family expanded--he had six siblings, including a set of triplets born in 1936--his father got a job in the local fishing industry for $15 a week, and later worked at a rayon plant in nearby Painesville, Ohio. Shula attended elementary school at St. Mary's, a private Catholic school in Painesville; his mother was a devout Catholic, and his father converted to the religion when they married. He later attended Thomas W. Harvey in Painesville and played on its football team starting in 1945. He did not try out for the team because of both his mother's prohibition on him playing and he was recovering from a bout of pneumonia, but an assistant football coach noticed him in a gym class and convinced him to join. Shula forged his parents' signatures to sign up. Within weeks of joining Harvey's football team, Shula was a starting left halfback in the school's single-wing offense. He handled a large portion of the team's rushing and passing duties, and helped lead the team to a 7-3 win-loss record in his senior year. It was the first time in 18 years that Harvey had a seven-win season. The team would have won a league title had it not lost an early game to Willoughby. Shula also ran track at Harvey and was an 11-time letterman in his three years there. As Shula prepared to graduate from high school in 1947, many men whose football careers were delayed by service in World War II were returning and competing for athletic scholarships. As a result, Shula was unable to get a scholarship and contemplated working for a year before going to college. That summer, however, he had a chance meeting at a gas station with former Painesville football coach Howard Bauchman, who suggested he ask about a scholarship at John Carroll University. Shula got a one-year scholarship at the private Jesuit school in University Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. It was extended to a full scholarship after Shula performed well in his freshman year, including in a win over Youngstown State in October 1948. He ran for 175 yards and scored two touchdowns substituting for the injured starting halfback. The same year, Shula considered joining the Catholic priesthood after a three-day retreat at John Carroll, but decided against it because of his commitment to football. During his senior year in 1950, he rushed for 125 yards in a win over a heavily favored Syracuse team. CANNOTANSWER

where was he born?

Shula was born in Grand River, Ohio, a small town along the Lake Erie shore in the northeastern part of the state.