Don Doll, part of Detroit’s 1952 NFL championship team and a former Lions coach, dies at 84

Former Lions DB, coach Doll dies at 84

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Don Doll, a standout defensive back who was part of Detroit’s 1952 NFL championship team before coaching the Lions, has died. He was 84.

The Lions said Tuesday that Doll died last Wednesday in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The team didn’t announce a cause of death.

The team said Doll had at least 10 interceptions in three seasons, the only NFL player to accomplish that feat.

Doll played safety for the Lions from 1949-52, and he intercepted four passes in one game against the Chicago Cardinals as a rookie in 1949. He also played one season each with the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams.

He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, and was named the MVP of the game in 1953.

Doll returned to the Lions as a coach from 1963-64 and again from 1978-88.

He was a four-year letterman playing halfback at Southern California, where he played in the 1945 Rose Bowl when the Trojans beat Tennessee and again in 1949 when they lost to Michigan.

Doll led the Trojans in rushing in 1944, ‘47 and ‘48. He ran for 1,067 career yards and led the team in receptions and scoring in ‘48.

Doll missed the 1948 season while serving in the Marines. The school said he was aboard the USS Missouri when the Japanese signed surrender papers on the ship to end World War II.

He was an assistant coach at Washington in 1955, and served in the same capacity at USC in 1957 and ‘58.

Doll is survived by his wife, Diana; children Steven, Wendy, Kevan, Heidi and Michael; six grandchildren; and one great grandchild.