| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 2 |
Alma Mater: Illinois [1913]
Hometown: Normal, IL
Date Born: January 14, 1892
Date Died: October 22, 1972
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/18/1930 | Georgetown College at Kentucky | W | 67 - 19 | - |
| 12/14/1929 | Georgetown College at Kentucky | W | 46 - 9 | - |
Obituary - Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph (October 23, 1971)
Normal's Chester Dillon dies at 79; early great in ISU football, track
Chester C. Dillon, 79, member of a pioneer Normal family and one of the great athletes of Illinois State University history, died at 2 p.m. Friday in a hospital at Anniston, Ala.
Mr. Dillon since 1937 had made his home in Jacksonville, Ala. He was athletic director at Jacksonville State University until three years ago. A son lives in Anniston, Ala.
The former athlete, whose family brought Percheron horses from Belgium to make Normal a capital of the horse industry before 1900, was often a subject of columns by Fred Young, the Pantagraph's sports editor emeritus.
Sometimes a letter from Mr. Dillon told the story, as in February, 1970, when he described his career as an ISU hurdler and football player in 1905-06. He used his hurdling ability on the gridiron before the practice was outlawed by the rules book.
"In 1906 at Normal" he recalled, "I tried to fly over an opposing tackler in the open field. As I hurdled over him, he came up fast and caught me by the foot. I came down on my forehead."
"I was taken out of the lineup, but I was goofy the rest of the game and even after I had showered in the Old Castle (Cook Hall)."
"I recall that my teammates saw me start to shower in my football suit."
According to Mr. Young, his friend from those early years was 1907 team captain at ISU, one of the state's leading hurdlers in track and one of the first football players ever to use the forward pas - "curling it off his elbow."
Mr. Dillon graduated from ISU in 1908 but continued his football career at the University of Illinois - by virtue of less stringent player restrictions of that time - in 1910, 1911 and 1912.
After that he began a lifetime of teaching and coaching. He was at Pontiac High School among other Illinois schools before moving south, according to Mr. Young.
The sports editor emeritus described Mr. Dillon as having along with his lifelong interest in athletics a "deep religious foundation" which only last month earned him the designation of "lifetime deacon" of his Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Ala.
Surviving are a son, Robert C., an attorney in Anniston, and a daughter, Mrs. Martha Woodhan, Kingsport, Tenn.
An uncle, Frank "Cap" Dillon, was a professional baseball player for Pittsburgh and Detroit, then managed the old Los Angeles club of the Pacific Coast League for 16 years.
