Lone Star’s Legacy

In his 31-year coaching career, Dietz earned a record of 170-71-11, which makes him one of the greatest American football coaches, says Benjey. A member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Dietz is currently on the ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In 1922, he married Doris Ohm Pottlitzer, a newspaper society editor, who he met while coaching at Purdue University.
Will Renken, former Albright athletic director, remembers Dietz as a man who loved Albright football.

Renken worked as an assistant coach to John Potsklan. Renken recalls how Dietz sat next to him at every game for many years, and helped study the plays.

“He did this as a volunteer,” says Renken, of Wyomissing. “He was famous for being a great tackle and for winning the first Rose Bowl, but he didn’t talk about those things. He was very much into the game and excited about what was happening on the field. He loved football and he loved Albright.”

After World War II shut down football at Albright, Dietz invested all his resources to found an art school in Pittsburgh, which prospered for several years but then failed. Advanced in age, Dietz and his wife Doris returned to Reading where they lived in poverty in the Oakbrook Housing Projects. Dietz kept painting and occasionally sold his work, but more often gave it away as gifts.

Codi recalls that Dietz remained positive during his later years, despite his circumstances.

“When he was older and he had to struggle financially, he said to me once, ‘Why don’t you buy a painting from me, so I would have some money for Christmas?’ I was going to, but then he changed his mind,” says Codi. “Then he showed up in my office and gave me the painting as a gift. It is called ‘Dan’s Boat House.’ I cherish it.”

Left; The Bead Woman, 1910, appeared in the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School literary magazine, The Red Man, In 1913. Right; Indian Farmers, 1910, appeared on the cover of The Red Man in 1914. Courtesy of Tom Benjey.

When Dietz died in 1964 at the age of 79, he was cremated, but there were no funds to bury him. After Doris died in 1967, the Albright Varsity Club and other friends paid to have the couple buried in Schwarzwald Cemetery, Jacksonwald, and for a simple tombstone.

A small memorial service was held, conducted by the late Eugene H. Barth, Ph.D., Albright professor of religion and philosophy. Codi was one of the few who attended. “It was kind of eerie,” recalls Codi. “He was sort of a forgotten man.”

Thanks to Benjey’s biography, Dietz’s adventures will not be forgotten. “Lone Star Dietz is not only an intriguing figure in Albright history, he is a fascinating figure in American history,” says Albright President Lex McMillan.

“An admirable character in so many ways, we are fortunate to be able to claim him as a member of the Albright family. Despite his struggles, he was passionate in contributing his athletic and artistic talents; he lived his life to the fullest, and he never gave up.”