Craig Fertig (May 7, 1942 – October 4, 2008) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He was the head football coach at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

from

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, compiling a record of 10–34–1 () in four seasons.

Playing career

Fertig attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

where he was a star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he set eight school passing records and threw the game-winning touchdown against top-ranked Notre Dame.

Coaching career

Selected late in the

1965 NFL Draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the fail ...

, 270th overall, Fertig opted not to play pro football and began coaching in 1965 at USC. From 1965 to 1975, he served as an assistant coach with the Trojans, except for a year in the World Football League (WFL) in 1974. Fertig was hired as an assistant coach with the

Portland Storm The Portland Thunder (originally Portland Storm) was an American football team in the World Football League based out of Portland, Oregon. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. ...

, but the team only lasted one season. The

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

impounded the franchise at the conclusion of the 1974 season and Fertig returned to USC as an assistant in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. At age 33 in December 1975, Fertig was named the head coach at

in Corvallis, with a three-year contract at $26,000 per year. He followed

Dee Andros Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics He was the head coach at the University of Idaho from 1962 to 1964 and Oregon State University from ...

, who stepped down after eleven seasons and became OSU's athletic director. Fertig was fired during his fourth season in October

, in the second year of a three-year contract at $33,696 per year. He coached through the end of the season, and lost the finale to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

24–3 in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the Beavers' fifth straight loss to the Ducks. Fertig served as an assistant

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

for the Trojans, and was later a broadcaster.

Family and death

Born in Bell, California, Fertig was from

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside th ...

, where his father was chief of police. He graduated from

Huntington Park High School Huntington Park High School is a public high school in Huntington Park, California, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. History The First Grammar School was initially built in 1904. The election was held with 21 registered voters cas ...

and enrolled at USC. Fertig's sister Trudy also attended USC and married former USC lineman Marv Marinovich; their son

Todd Marinovich Todd Marvin Marinovich (born Marvin Scott Marinovich on July 4, 1969) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. He played in the National Football League ( Los Angeles Raiders), Canadian Football League (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, BC Li ...

is Fertig's nephew. Fertig died in 2008 at age 66 of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...

on October 4. USC remembered him with a moment of silence at the game against

that evening.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fertig, Craig 1942 births 2008 deaths American football quarterbacks Oregon State Beavers football coaches People from Bell, California People from Huntington Park, California Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California USC Trojans football coaches USC Trojans football players Portland Storm coaches Deaths from kidney failure