Robert "Bob" Amedeo Vespaziani was an American-born Canadian football coach who was head coach of the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

from 1986 to 1987.

Early life

Vespaziani was born in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

and grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He graduated from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

and began his coaching career as a high school coach in Massachusetts and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Coaching career

From 1971 to 1978, Vespaziani was the head coach of the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and An ...

. The Axemen won the Bluenose conference championship in 1975, but lost the

Atlantic Bowl The Atlantic Bowl was one of the two national semifinal men's football games of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now known as U Sports). The winner of the Atlantic Bowl would meet the winner of the Churchill Bowl for the Vanier Cup. It was repla ...

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venue ...

. Acadia won the Atlantic Bowl in 1976 and 1977, but lost the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

both years to the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and white. ...

. From 1979 to 1984, Vespaziani was an assistant with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. The Bombers won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

in 1984. In 1985 he was the director of player personnel and linebackers coach for the Grey Cup-winning

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. In 1986, Vespaziani was named head coach of the Calgary Stampeders. The team went 11-7 in his first season and Calgary made the playoffs for the first time in four years. He was runner up to

Al Bruno Albert P. Bruno (March 28, 1927 – October 5, 2014) was an American gridiron football player, administrator, and coach who served as the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1983 to 1990. Early life He was born in 1927 in West Chester, P ...

for the

Annis Stukus Trophy The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named afte ...

. The following year, the Stampeders started with a 2–6 record and Vespaziani and general manager

Earl Lunsford Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the Calgary Stampeders and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. College football Lunsford played during college at with Oklahoma ...

were fired. In 1988, Vespaziani returned to the BC Lions as linebackers coach. He was not retained by new head coach

Bob O'Billovich Robert O'Billovich, nicknamed "Bobby O" or "Obie", (born June 30, 1940) is an east regional scout for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). O'Billovich has been involved with the CFL since 1963 in the roles of player, coach, general ...

in 1990. Vespaziani decided to work towards a business securities licence and served as head coach of the Delta Secondary School. However, that September he was rehired by the Lions as defensive backs coach. The following year he coached the Lions defensive front seven. He was fired by O'Billovich after the season, as O'Billovich felt that the Lions could have gone to the Grey Cup if Vespaziani's players had performed better. In 1992, Vespaziani served as a guest coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However after head coach

Cal Murphy Cal Murphy (March 12, 1932 – February 18, 2012) was a Canadian football coach, general manager and scout, most notably for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. In his career as a coach and/or general manager, he led ...

suffered a heart attack, interim head coach

Urban Bowman Urban M. Bowman Jr. (November 16, 1937 – February 25, 2018) was an American-Canadian gridiron football player and coach who served as the interim head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Early life Bowman was born on No ...

asked Vespaziani to stay on to take over Bowman's duties as defensive line coach. In 1994 Vespaziani was named defensive line coach of the Calgary Stampeders. In 2000 he joined the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

as assistant general manager. His position was eliminated in 2004 but remained with the team as a football consultant and guest coach. He retired after the 2007 season. From 2008 to 2014 he served as a volunteer defensive line coach with the

Queen's Golden Gaels The Queen's Gaels (also known as the Queen's Golden Gaels) is the Athletics program representing Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Team colours are blue, red, and gold. The main athletics facilities include Richardson Me ...

. He was a member of the coaching staff with the Gales won the 2009 Vanier Cup. Vespaziani died on January 20, 2018, in Lakefield, Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vespaziani, Bob 1935 births 2018 deaths Acadia Axemen football coaches BC Lions coaches Calgary Stampeders coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches BC Lions personnel Saskatchewan Roughriders personnel People from Mount Vernon, New York Springfield College alumni