Wilson’s Doug Dahms set to reside in yet another Hall of Fame
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
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They’re running out of Hall of Fames for Doug Dahms to enter.
He’s already been honored by his alma maters, Muhlenberg and Lebanon Valley; by the school where he taught and has coached for half a century, Wilson; by the Berks County Football Coaches Association and by the Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.
Next up: Induction into the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Dahms is part of a Class of 2025 that includes Bruce Harbach of Schuylkill Valley, Max Shoemaker of Chestnut Ridge, Dave Baker of Williamsburg, Jeff Wasilchak of Lackawanna Trail, Rich Lichtel of Mechanicsburg, and Don Holl of Gateway.
Induction is May 25 prior to the Big 33 Classic at Cumberland Valley High School; the class will also be honored onfield during halftime ceremonies.
Remarkably, Dahms has never been part of a losing season at Wilson. He joined the staff in 1976 with the Bulldogs coming off a 5-5 season. They have strung together 49 consecutive winning seasons since, the longest active streak in the state.
Dahms, preparing his 20th season as head coach, has compiled a 196-44 record and the highest winning percentage (.817) in Berks County history. Late in the 2019 season he surpassed John Gurski’s program record of 151 wins. All told, he’s been on staff for 49 seasons and 460 victories.
Dahms’ resume as a head coach includes 14 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 titles, including last year’s and a record nine straight, from 2008-2016. That span saw the Bulldogs win 68 straight league games, setting a Lancaster-Lebanon League record for any section.
His teams have won four District 3 championships – 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016 – and recorded four unbeaten regular seasons (2008, 2010, 2013, 2014).
Dahms has been named Berks Coach of the Year twice, in 2008 and 2016, Section 1 Coach of the Year 13 times, and District 3 Coach of the Year three times.
With a little luck this season the 71-year-old Dahms could become just the third coach in Berks history to reach 200 wins. That could come as early as Sept. 12, the Bulldogs’ fourth game, against Reading High. They open against Cheltenham, Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and Nazareth.
Dahms was named Outstanding Student Athlete at Muhlenberg, where he played football, wrestled and ran track before graduating in 1971.
He earned an academic scholarship to Lebanon Valley College where he played football, wrestled, and ran track — he was a high jumper, hurdler, threw the shot put and discus and competed in the pole vault. He earned 12 letters with the Flying Dutchmen, was captain of the football team, and was named Outstanding Athlete in 1973. He graduated in 1975 with a degree in biology.
He has a master’s degree in biology from Kutztown University and has done extensive graduate work in Montana, Delaware, and at several other universities.
He taught in upper-level science classes at Wilson High School for 47 years before retiring in 2023.
Dahms has been every bit as successful coaching track and field, where he was named Berks Coach of the Year 26 times and took the Bulldogs to 32 county championships during his 47 seasons, 35 as head coach. He coached seven Berks record-holders and two District 3 Class 3A record-holders.
He also served as President of the Berks County Track and Field Coaches Association for 26 years.
Dennis Iezzi, a Daniel Boone grad who had great success at Middletown, was inducted into the PSFCA Hall of Fame in 2024.
Other recent inductions with Berks connections include former Berks Catholic and Holy Name coach Rick Keeley, Class of 2023; former Gov. Mifflin coach Mick Vecchio, inducted in 2022; and former Reading High coach Al Wolski, inducted in 2020.
