Coach Dunn Returns to (East) Campus By Susan Moore


tWenty-eIght years after retiring from Springfield College, Coach Ted Dunn G’47 is once again spending his days on the campus. In June 2011, he became a resident of Reeds Landing Retirement Community, situated on the College’s East Campus. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it was a twister that delivered him there. On June 1, Dunn was volunteering at the


after-school program at Trinity United Methodist Church that he and his friend Nancy Schumann founded. As he does three days each week, he was coaching children ages 11 through 14 on their golf swings. He heard the tornado warning but, like most, didn’t pay much attention. After he returned home, the wind picked up dramatically and he saw debris flying through the air. As he sought shelter in his basement, the tornado travelled through his neighborhood on its path of destruction. When he emerged safely from below, he found that 10 of his windows had been blown out and glass and debris were strewn everywhere. Ten days later, the ninth annual Old Shoe Golf Classic was held at


Westover Golf Course. The tornado damage to his home didn’t seem to be a good reason for Coach Dunn to miss this important event in support of his beloved Springfield College football program. While he enjoyed the tournament and reconnected with many of his former players, the power was restored to his neigh-


borhood, causing his house to catch fire. Adversity and hardship are nothing new for


Coach Dunn. As a seven-year old, he experi- enced the loss of both his father and his younger brother. His widowed mother struggled to raise her family during the Great Depression. After graduating from Colgate University and serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Dunn became a graduate assistant for Coach Ossie Solem at Springfield College. He was paid $150 for the 1946 season. His hard work and love of the game led him


Ted Dunn


to the head coaching position in 1959. With great pride, he recalls the “all winning” football


team of 1965. Their season of no losses and no ties remains a College record. Now he sits thankfully in his new apartment, recalling that team


and all the players that he coached. After the double-whammy to his house, Dunn moved to Reeds Landing Retirement Community where he no longer worries about the snow, the lawn, or the leaves. The walls and tables of his apartments are filled with Springfield College memorabilia. He is keeping count of his new friends and enjoys coffee every morning with other residents in the living room. A regular in the fitness center, Dunn also is working with the on-site physical therapist to strengthen his hips after several surgeries. It was a move that brought him “home.”1


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