| George Dickson | |
| Birth Date: | 27 September 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | California, U.S. |
| Position1: | Quarterback |
| College: | Notre Dame |
| High School: | South Pasadena High School |
| Coaching Years1: | 1952 |
| Coaching Team1: | NYU (assistant) |
| Coaching Years2: | 1953 |
| Coaching Team2: | Mount Carmel HS (IL) (assistant) |
| Coaching Years3: | 1954 |
| Coaching Team3: | Notre Dame (backfield) |
| Coaching Years4: | 1955 |
| Coaching Team4: | Dayton (backfield) |
| Coaching Years5: | 1956 |
| Coaching Team5: | Marquette (backfield) |
| Coaching Years6: | 1957 |
| Coaching Team6: | USC (backfield) |
| Coaching Years7: | 1958–1960 |
| Coaching Team7: | Pacific (CA) (assistant) |
| Coaching Years8: | 1961 |
| Coaching Team8: | Oakland Raiders (DB) |
| Coaching Years9: | 1962–1963 |
| Coaching Team9: | Oklahoma (assistant) |
| Coaching Years10: | 1964–1965 |
| Coaching Team10: | Denver Broncos (assistant) |
| Coaching Years11: | 1966 |
| Coaching Team11: | Atlanta Falcons (OB) |
| Coaching Years12: | 1967–1968 |
| Coaching Team12: | New Orleans Saints (OB) |
| Coaching Years13: | 1969 |
| Coaching Team13: | Washington Redskins (OB) |
| Coaching Years14: | 1971 |
| Coaching Team14: | Houston Oilers (OB) |
| Coaching Years15: | 1972–1975 |
| Coaching Team15: | San Diego Chargers (OB/ST) |
| Coaching Years16: | 1976 |
| Coaching Team16: | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (head coach) |
| Coaching Years17: | 1977 |
| Coaching Team17: | San Bernardino Valley (assistant) |
| Coaching Years18: | 1978 |
| Coaching Team18: | Washington Redskins (OB) |
| Coaching Years19: | 1979–80 |
| Coaching Team19: | Washington Redskins (LB) |
| Coaching Years20: | 1982–83 |
| Coaching Team20: | Michigan Panthers (OB) |
| Career Highlights: | |
George Charles Dickson Jr. (September 27, 1921 – November 25, 2020) was an American gridiron football player and coach was the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the first two games of the 1976 season.
Dickson was born in September 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in South Pasadena, California. He was a star quarterback at South Pasadena High School and in 1940 joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.
After his freshman season, Dickson enlisted as a paratrooper. He saw extensive action during the war, including combat in Normandy on D-Day. Following the fighting in Normandy, Sgt. Dickson and his unit moved to the Ardennes. There, they were battered by constant bombing by German artillery during the Battle of the Bulge.
He returned to Notre Dame in 1946, but dropped out in order to work full-time. He returned to Notre Dame again in 1948 and spent his final two seasons of eligibility as a reserve quarterback behind Frank Tripucka and Bob Williams.[1]
Sgt. George Dickson received the Admiral Thomas J. Hamilton Award from the All-American Football Foundation in 2006.
Dickson began his coaching career in 1952 as an assistant at NYU. The football program was disbanded after his first season there and after spending the 1953 season as an assistant at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Dickson rejoined his NYU boss Hugh Devore at Dayton. Dickson's time at Dayton was short-lived as one month later he left Dayton to become the backfield coach at his alma mater, Notre Dame. After only one season, Dickson left Notre Dame and returned to Dayton.[2]
After stints at Marquette, USC, Pacific, and Tulane, Dickson joined the pro ranks as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League.[3] He returned to college football in 1962 as an assistant at Oklahoma.[4]
In 1976, Dickson received his first head coaching position when he was hired by the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. After the Tiger-Cats lost all four of their preseason games and their first two regular season games under Dickson, General Manager Bob Shaw fired him and succeeded him as head coach.[5]
After his firing, Dickson served as an assistant coach at San Bernardino Valley College.[6] He returned to the NFL in 1978 as the Washington Redskins' offensive backfield coach.[7]
Dickson died in California in November 2020 at the age of 99.[8]
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| HAM | 1976 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 4th in East Division | 0 | 0 | Fired | |
| Total | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||||