Dan Boisture
Encyclopedia
Daniel P. Boisture, Jr. was an American football
coach. He was the head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles football
team from 1967 to 1973, compiling a record of 83-38-5.
Boisture was a star athlete in high school, playing both basketball and football at Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit. He served in the United States Marine Corps
in the Pacific Theater during World War II
,and was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa
, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart
. After returning home, he was recruited as a basketball player by Notre Dame
, but instead attended the University of Detroit, where he lettered four times in football as an end, and twice in basketball. In 1949, Boisture helped the University of Detroit football team win the Missouri Valley Conference championship in the school's first year in the conference.
Boisture began his coaching career as a high school football coach at Dearborn St. Alphonsus High School and Ecorse St. Francis Xavier High School. From 1955 until 1958, he coached at Detroit St. Mary's of Redford High School in the Detroit Catholic League, where his teams accumulated a 37-4-2 record and won the Catholic League championship four of the five years he coached there. In 1959, at the age of 33, he became an assistant coach at Michigan State University
, under Duffy Daugherty
, where he stayed through the 1966 season. During his time at Michigan State, the team won two national championships, in 1965 and 1966.
In July 1967, Boisture was hired as head coach at Eastern Michigan University
. He later commented that he was willing to go to a smaller school, saying, "There weren't many jobs open...Joan and I looked at the campus. It was a cute campus." Under his leadership, the team produced the longest period of sustained success since Elton Rynearson
's days. The team posted winning seasons in all seven years of Boisture's coaching, including a 13-game winning streak that remains a school record. His 1971 squad finished the regular season 7-0-2, only allowing one touchdown in the last five games, before losing to Louisiana Tech in the Pioneer Bowl, the first bowl trip in school history. Boisture was named NCAA District Four "coach of the year" in 1971.
Boisture's tenure at Eastern Michigan is also notable for the construction of Rynearson Stadium
. Boisture's teams played their first two seasons at the old field, near the corner of Oakwood and Washtenaw, just west of McKenny Union
. In 1969, the new stadium, which was considered off-campus at the time, opened with a capacity of 15,500. Boisture's bowl-bound 1971 team played for one of the few sellout crowds in the stadium's history, a 0-0 tie against Eastern Kentucky on October 16, 1971 which drew 17,360 spectators.
In February 1974, Boisture left Eastern Michigan to coach the Detroit Wheels
, in the Central Division of the World Football League
, who also played home games at Rynearson Stadium. After playing a partial 1974 season of 14 games (out of a planned 20 game season), for a 1-13 record, the Wheels folded.
Following his experience with the World Football League, Boisture decided to leave coaching. "It was a hardship on the family, moving like we were moving...When the Wheels went defunct, I could have gone with a couple pro teams, and I said, ‘That’s it.’...I was in a position to continue in pro ball or get something more stable. I made the right choice." He and his family settled in Wyandotte
, Michigan
, and started a marketing firm dealing internationally with military equipment, from which he retired in 1990.
Boisture was inducted into Eastern Michigan University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Boisture was the younger brother of Thomas Q. Boisture, who played football for Mississippi State
and later coached at the University of Houston
and Holy Cross University
. His grandson, Joe, played quarterback for Michigan State
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach. He was the head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
team from 1967 to 1973, compiling a record of 83-38-5.
Boisture was a star athlete in high school, playing both basketball and football at Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit. He served in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in the Pacific Theater during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
,and was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
. After returning home, he was recruited as a basketball player by Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The program competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. The school holds two national championships in...
, but instead attended the University of Detroit, where he lettered four times in football as an end, and twice in basketball. In 1949, Boisture helped the University of Detroit football team win the Missouri Valley Conference championship in the school's first year in the conference.
Boisture began his coaching career as a high school football coach at Dearborn St. Alphonsus High School and Ecorse St. Francis Xavier High School. From 1955 until 1958, he coached at Detroit St. Mary's of Redford High School in the Detroit Catholic League, where his teams accumulated a 37-4-2 record and won the Catholic League championship four of the five years he coached there. In 1959, at the age of 33, he became an assistant coach at Michigan State University
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
, under Duffy Daugherty
Duffy Daugherty
Hugh Duffy Daugherty was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, where he compiled a career record of 109–69–5. Duffy's 1965 and 1966 teams won national championships...
, where he stayed through the 1966 season. During his time at Michigan State, the team won two national championships, in 1965 and 1966.
In July 1967, Boisture was hired as head coach at Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. He later commented that he was willing to go to a smaller school, saying, "There weren't many jobs open...Joan and I looked at the campus. It was a cute campus." Under his leadership, the team produced the longest period of sustained success since Elton Rynearson
Elton Rynearson
Elton James Rynearson, Sr. was an American athlete, coach, and athletic director. He was affiliated with Eastern Michigan University for most of his life, beginning his association with the school as a student in 1910 and retiring as the school's athletic director in...
's days. The team posted winning seasons in all seven years of Boisture's coaching, including a 13-game winning streak that remains a school record. His 1971 squad finished the regular season 7-0-2, only allowing one touchdown in the last five games, before losing to Louisiana Tech in the Pioneer Bowl, the first bowl trip in school history. Boisture was named NCAA District Four "coach of the year" in 1971.
Boisture's tenure at Eastern Michigan is also notable for the construction of Rynearson Stadium
Rynearson Stadium
Rynearson Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. It held its first game on September 27, 1969 when EMU upset the University of Akron, 10-3. Currently, the stadium has seating for...
. Boisture's teams played their first two seasons at the old field, near the corner of Oakwood and Washtenaw, just west of McKenny Union
McKenny Union
McKenny Hall, previously called McKenny Union and Charles McKenny Union, is one of four buildings comprising the Eastern Michigan University Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places on the campus of Eastern Michigan University...
. In 1969, the new stadium, which was considered off-campus at the time, opened with a capacity of 15,500. Boisture's bowl-bound 1971 team played for one of the few sellout crowds in the stadium's history, a 0-0 tie against Eastern Kentucky on October 16, 1971 which drew 17,360 spectators.
In February 1974, Boisture left Eastern Michigan to coach the Detroit Wheels
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the ill-fated World Football League.The Wheels were founded December 13, 1973 by ten investors, whose number eventually grew to 33, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Edwards, and Little Caesars...
, in the Central Division of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
, who also played home games at Rynearson Stadium. After playing a partial 1974 season of 14 games (out of a planned 20 game season), for a 1-13 record, the Wheels folded.
Following his experience with the World Football League, Boisture decided to leave coaching. "It was a hardship on the family, moving like we were moving...When the Wheels went defunct, I could have gone with a couple pro teams, and I said, ‘That’s it.’...I was in a position to continue in pro ball or get something more stable. I made the right choice." He and his family settled in Wyandotte
Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and started a marketing firm dealing internationally with military equipment, from which he retired in 1990.
Boisture was inducted into Eastern Michigan University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Boisture was the younger brother of Thomas Q. Boisture, who played football for Mississippi State
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
and later coached at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
and Holy Cross University
Holy Cross University
Holy Cross University may refer to:* Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy* Holy Cross College * Other colleges and universities affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross...
. His grandson, Joe, played quarterback for Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
.