Gustave Herman Ferbert (July 22, 1873 – January 15, 1943), nicknamed "Dutch",[1] was an American college football player and coach.

Ferbert left the University of Michigan in 1900 and spent nine years prospecting for gold in Alaska, finally striking it rich off claims he discovered in 1908 and 1909.

One newspaper reported on the selection as follows:"'Dutchy,' as Ferbert is almost universally called by his college fellows, has been as popular as any man who ever played on one of Michigan's teams, and his election meets the favor of every one.

During a majority of the time he has played on the team he has acted as field captain, and his splendid judgment has been largely instrumental in Michigan's success on the gridiron.

On a field that was simply perfect for fast football, and before a crowd of 12,000 the maroons of Chicago went down before the maize and blue of Michigan today by a score of 12 to 11. .

The Michigan line, in which big holes were torn by the light Northwestern team, was simply impregnable today, with the exception of about ten minutes in the second half, when the Chicago men pushed their opponents aside with an apparent ease.

"[9] Another article noted: "Michigan, with the exception of one or two double passes, relied almost altogether on straight football, line bucking and runs around the end.

[11] In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other prominent Michigan football men.

"[12] Ferbert, Allen and Villa intended to "proceed to the Alaska gold fields," leaving unsettled the question of who would coach the Michigan football team in 1900.

The article stated: "Eight years ago, with the determination to come back rich or not at all, 'Dutch' Ferbert, old Michigan coach and one of the most famous football players, left Cleveland for the Klondike.

For eight years he has toiled over endless snows, fought fierce hardships, endured everything in his battle to win his word—to come back home a rich man.

He worked part-time in restaurants and stores, but he finally located some of the best claims in the region and "panned out more gold than he had ever dreamed of and became a bonanza king overnight.

[16] At the time of the 1920 United States Census, he was living in Whittier, California, and his occupation was listed as a miner in a private mine.