Robert Horace "Doc" Erskine (July 4, 1904 – February 1, 1978) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. He served at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

as the head football coach from 1933 to 1934 and as the head basketball coach from 1924 to 1925 and 1933 to 1939.

Biography

"Doc" was born on the Fourth of July in Waukegan, Illinois, to Caroline V. Griffith (1870–1952) & Robert James Erskine (1878–1925). He had an elder brother, David G. Erskine. Erskine served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

. He never played football at any level, but was described by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

as a capable analyst of blocking,

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, passing, and punting.Oklahomans Think Biff Good Medicine For Ailing Sooners
''St. Petersburg Times'', May 4, 1935. He served as coach and trainer at the New Mexico Military Institute and Louisiana State University before being named basketball coach at Loyola University at New Orleans in 1924 while still a student. He received a B.S. from Loyola in 1926. From 1926 to 1933, he coached at Jesuit High School in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, where he led the football team to a "brilliant record" of 46–8–3. After a year as assistant, he was head coach from 1927 through 1932. “During his six-year tenure as head coach, Erskine won four Prep championships,” wrote Ronald J. Drez in ''Gallant Fighting Sons''. “Those six powerhouse football teams amassed 1,585 points to the opponents’ 362. His basketball teams won five consecutive Prep championships from 1929 to 1933. And his track teams collected four Prep trophies....Even Erskine’s golf teams won two Prep championships. In Doc’s six years, Jesuit athletics had exploded.” One of his athletes was 1932 Olympic Gold Medalist Emmett Toppino and Doc’s 1933 half-mile relay squad finished second in a national invitational in Chicago only to a team anchored by Jesse Owens. In March 1933,

appointed Erskine as its head football coach, replacing

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (originally O'Shaughnessy) (March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, although that ...

.Doc Erskine Succeeds Shaughnessy as Coach
''Youngstown Vindicator'', Mar 12, 1933. As head football coach at Loyola from 1933 to 1934, Erskine's team amassed an 11–7 record. He resigned on December 19, 1934. In his seven years as Loyola basketball coach in 1924–25 and from 1933 to 1939, Erskine compiled a combined record of 48–61. In 1935, he was hired as the backfield assistant at

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

under Biff Jones. In 1938, Sooners fans recognized his hard work as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

, naming him the "travelingest coach". In that role, he logged over 15,000 miles, including a 4,400-mile outing to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

(via

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) in preparation for a game against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. In 1940, Erskine was shifted from freshman coach to once again handle backfield duties. Erskine followed

Tom Stidham Thomas E. Stidham (March 25, 1905 – January 29, 1964) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1937 to 1940 and Marquette University fro ...

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

, where he served as backfield coach for the 1941 season. He intended to remain at the school the following year, but he received military orders to report for duty in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

Lowry Field Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

as a first lieutenant in July.Doc Erskine is Called For Air Corps Service
''The Milwaukee Journal'', Jun 10, 1942. In September 1943, he was serving in the Air Corps Intelligence Division and was promoted to the rank of captain and discharged as a major. He returned from the service to Marquette in March 1946, and worked as the ends coach under head coach Frank Murray. He was shifted to backfield coach for the 1948 season, and by 1952, had been switched again. Erskine also handled scouting duties for the program.MU Down? Cincinnati May Find Rejuvenated Warriors Tough
''The Milwaukee Sentinel'', Oct 8, 1954.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Robert 1904 births 1978 deaths Loyola Wolf Pack football coaches Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Marquette Golden Avalanche football coaches High school football coaches in Louisiana United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army officers United States Army reservists Sportspeople from New Orleans Basketball coaches from Louisiana