Early years Dolan was born August 14, 1884, in
Folkestone, England of
Irish parentage. He came to the United States with his family when he was about six, moving to
Portland, Oregon, where he attended the
Josiah Failing School in the south part of the city. In 1905, Dolan attended Oregon Agricultural College in neighboring
Corvallis, Oregon, starting on the school's football team as a
tackle. Dolan played football at
Notre Dame from 1906 to 1909. While at Notre Dame, Dolan was a starter at
right guard. In his four seasons as a player, the Fighting Irish were 27–2–2. Dolan also attended school at Oregon Agricultural College in 1909, however did not play football for OAC.
Coaching career In 1911, Dolan became the head football coach at
Oregon State. During that 1911 season, OAC did not play their in state rivals, the
University of Oregon in an annual
rivalry game due to a riot at the game previous year. The OAC student body decided to cancel all athletic events between the two schools for the 1911 season. The game was brought back for the 1912 season but was moved to a neutral site in
Albany, Oregon. The neutral field idea came from an Albany cigar-maker named Billy Eagles, Dolan's brother-in-law. Dolan served as the head coach for two seasons, posting an 8–6 overall record.
Life after coaching Dolan married the former Arlene Train, daughter of a former
postmaster of Albany and publisher of the
Albany Herald. In addition to an academic career spanning three decades, Dolan worked as a practicing engineer in the field, taking a leave of absence in 1934 to work for the
Oregon State Highway Commission as senior engineering inspector of the
Coos Bay Bridge and serving as an engineering examiner in Portland until 1936. After services at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Corvallis, Dolan's body was laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery in Albany. ==Head coaching record==