Robert S. Harris (December 6, 1886 – July 11, 1964) 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 with ...

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 ...

player and

coach. He played college football and basketball at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He was the head coach of the 1908–09 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.

Early years

Harris was born in 1886. He attended Hyde Park High School in Chicago where he played football as a center. He attended the

, where he was a member of Amos Alonzo Stagg's football teams that won consecutive Western Conference championships in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

. He also played basketball at Chicago and was a member of the

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and

1907–08 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team The 1907–08 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team represented the University of Chicago in intercollegiate basketball during the 1907–08 season. The team finished the season with a 23–2 record and were named national champions by the Helms ...

s that compiled a combined 44–4 record and were recognized by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

as national champion for both years.

Indiana University

Harris was the head coach of the 1908–09 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. The team compiled a 5–9 record.

Military service and later years

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Harris served overseas in the U.S. Army's

Rainbow Division The 42nd Infantry Division (42ID) ("Rainbow") is a division of the United States Army National Guard. The 42nd Infantry Division has served in World War I, World War II and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The division is currently headquarte ...

under the command of

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. He later served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as commander of military training schools at Princeton University, Western Reserve University, University of Virginia, and University of Chicago. He reached the rank of colonel in the Army. For 50 years, Harris worked as a certified life insurance underwriter for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Chicago. He married Sylvia Morrison; they had two daughters, Ruth M. Harris and Roberta Tugenberg. In 1964, Harris died in Chicago at the Veterans Administration Research Hospital at age 77.

References

External links

Robert Harris
at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com * Indiana University Basketball Encyclopedia, a
pages 138-139
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Robert 1886 births 1964 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Chicago Chicago Maroons football players Chicago Maroons men's basketball players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches