Don Hamilton

Who was Don Hamilton?

Donald Munson Hamilton of Columbus, Ohio was an American football player for the University of Notre Dame, as well as a professional baseball player and a football referee.

As a two-year starter at quarterback for Notre Dame, Hamilton amassed a record of 15-1-1. The highlight of the undefeated 1909 season was the school's first victory over Michigan in nine tries—an 11-3 triumph over a very good Fielding H. Yost team that would earn Notre Dame the title "Champions of the West".

In 1910, Hamilton's eligibility was suspended for having played professional baseball with the Louisville Colonels, but he would return as a backup quarterback in 1911 and throw the school's first game-winning touchdown pass—a 35-yard strike to Lee Matthews—for a 6-0 victory against Pitt.

After graduation, Hamilton played professionally in the Ohio League, first for the Shelby Blues in 1913, and then for the pre-NFL Canton Professionals-Bulldogs in 1914-15. By the early 1920s, he had become a referee for pro games played in the Ohio Valley, and in 1921 was banned from officiating games for the Ironton Tanks after admitting that he had watched them "more closely" than their opponents.