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Forrest “Jap” Douds ’30 is recognized throughout western Pennsylvania as a legendary football player and coach. Douds came to Washington & Jefferson College after a standout career at Rochester High School where he led the Rams to the 1920 state championship. At W&J, Douds was a star guard who earned Grantland Rice All-America honors following the 1927 and 1928 seasons, the first player in school history to accomplish the feat. He was also the first college football player to be twice selected to participate in the East-West Shrine Game.
During Douds’ first season with the Presidents in 1927, W&J posted a 7-0-2 record which included victories over Lafayette (14-0) and Bucknell (19-3). W&J also defeated Carnegie Tech by a 20-6 margin in front of a record attendance of 12,000. As a senior, Douds blocked three punts during the annual Thanksgiving Day game in Morgantown against West Virginia. Following that year, he was selected as the winner of the Walter Camp “Best Lineman In The East” award.
Douds went on to play professional football for the Portsmouth Spartans, Providence Steam Rollers, Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers). Following the 1930 season, Douds was named to the NFL All-Pro Team where he was joined by Bronco Nagurski and Red Grange. In 1933, Art Rooney named Douds as the first coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Douds was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.
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