Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-10-18
McGugin's Career in
South Has Been One
Of Continuous Success

YAS6 LILLE. l I'm ~. oct. lS.-
~ Dan McGugin, football coach,
is known all over the South
and West. and even in some sec
tons of the more or less benighted
East Daniel (. McGugin. attorney
at law, prominent citizen of Nash
vile. and prime mover in some of
the largest business enterprises in
the entire South is not so well
known.
There was time in 1904, when
a new coach came to Vanderbilt.
That was the last new one. up to
the present and into the future, for
he has been there ever since. He
came out of the West. whereas
Vanderbilt coaches had been COM
ing from the East. He was young,
and Just out of college, He knew
no one in Nashville and the South
had never heard of him to any eX-
tent Even the spelling of his
name was a sort of stumbling
block to the sporting writer's. and
some of them made him "McGui-
gan"
In 1903 Vanderbilt had had
fairly good average team 1t had
beaten Sewanee by one scratch
touchdown, but had lost to Cum
berland in the first game of the
season and was hopelessly tied up
with three other teams for the
championship at the end
Before the season of 1904 was
half gone, the men that iourneyed
up to Nashville to play Vanderbilt
went home With strange stories of
race of long. rangy men that
moved With terrible swiftness about
their work of piling up scores. That
was where McGugin had come in
McGuen Born in Iowa.
From that day to this McGugin
has been known of all Southern
football, but even yet the football
follower knows very little about the
other side of McGugin His his
tory is brief, but crowded with the
things he has done. He was born
in Tingley la. 33 years ago He
received his literary education at
Drake university, Des Moines, la,
aud incidentally took up his foot
ball education He played on the
Drake team two years. and made
reputation as a lineman that eX-
tended over the middle West.
His law course was taken at the
great Michigan law school, and
there. under Hurry Up" Yost, he
received the finishing touches on
his football training, as well as his
legal learning. He played two
years on the big Michigan teams of
1901 and 1902, and in 1903, being
then in his senior year, and hav-
ing played out his allotted span of
collegiate football. he turned in and
helped Yost develop that team.
In 1904 he came South, spending
the football season in Nashville
and the rest of the year in Detroit,
where he practiced law. More and
more his interests became South
y EN- however and especially his in
terest in the Nashville girl who be-
came Mrs. McGugin. Finally, two
years after coming to Vanderbilt,
he signed as athletic director for
the entire year. and in addition to
coaching took on the work of teach
ing class in constitutional law.
Coach McGugin is also Professor
McGugin
Dan Becomes a Southerner.
He opened a LAW office in Nash
Vile and unlike some lawyers who
open Offices also began to practice.
Nashville people found that he
knew law and could practice it just
as he knew football and could teach
it, Ne not only became prominent
in the legal world of Nashville. but
became interested in the project for
the development of Tenhessees
enormous water power. He was as
ISOLATED in this with Fielding Yost
his old football instructor, who. by
the way is now his brother law
as well. and between them they
succeeded IN organizing the Ten
uessee Power Company. a 500 .000.-
o00 corporation which is running
transmission lines from three great
plants on the Ocoee river. In East
Tennessee and the Great Falls of
the Caney Fork 10 towns an over
Tennessee These lines will be
opcn and in operation in few
months