Robert T. Fisher (December 3, 1888 – July 7, 1942) 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 played college football at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and was a consensus All-American in 1910 and 1911. He served as the head football coach at Harvard from 1919 to 1925, compiling a record of 43–14–5 and winning the 1920 Rose Bowl. His 1919 team was retroactively recognized as a national champion by a number of selectors. Fisher was one of the original trustees for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1973.

Playing career

Fisher was born on December 3, 1888 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He grew up in Dorchester and played tackle at Phillips Academy, where he was a teammate of John Kilpatrick. He played guard on Harvard’s freshman team in 1908 and on the varsity team from 1909 to 1911. He was captain of the 1911 Harvard Crimson football team. He was a second team All-American in 1909 and a consensus first team All-American in 1910 and 1911.

Military service

In 1917, Fisher was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Aviation Section of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Signal Corps and assigned to the San Antonio Aviation General Supply Depot. In 1918 he was transferred to Wilbur Wright Field in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, where he was later promoted to captain. While at Wright he met Louise Winters and they married when he was discharged in March of 1919. The Fishers had four sons and one daughter. After the war, Fisher returned to C. F. Hovey.

Coaching

After graduating in 1912, Fisher went to work for the C. F. Hovey department store, but remained involved with the Crimson as an assistant football coach. On June 13, 1919 it was announced that he would succeed

Percy Haughton Percy Duncan Haughton (July 11, 1876 – October 27, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia ...

as Harvard's head football coach. He was chosen after Haughton's lead assistant, Leo Leary, turned down the job to focus on his business interests. His 1919 team went undefeated and won the 1920 Rose Bowl over

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 ...

and was retroactively recognized as a national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Houlgate System, and as a co-national champion by the College Football Researchers Association,

National Championship Foundation The National Championship Foundation (NCF) was established by Mike Riter of Hudson, New York. The NCF retroactively selected college football national champions for each year from 1869 to 1979, and its selections are among the historic national ch ...

, and Parke H. Davis. The following year, Harvard went 8–0–1 and was retroactively named as the co-national champion by the Boand System, however the majority of selectors have chosen

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as the national champion for 1920. In 1921, Harvard lost to Center College in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. On February 3, 1925, Fisher informed the Harvard Athletic Committee that he would not return as head coach. He was convinced to reconsider and on March 4, 1925 it was announced he would return as head coach. After the season, Fisher announced he would not return as head coach. Fisher compiled a record of 43–14–5 in his seven seasons as Harvard's coach. He had a 4–2–1 record in the Harvard–Yale game. He had less success in the annual game against Princeton, amassing a 1–4–2 record and losing by a combined score of 70 to 0 in his final two seasons as coach.

Later life

Fisher worked at Lee, Higginson & Co. until 1927, when he and

Francis Ouimet Francis DeSales Ouimet () (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected ...

were chosen to head the Boston office of the stock and commodities exchange house Harriss, Irby & Vose. In 1931 he joined Spencer Trask & Co. and in 1940 was promoted to manager. On July 7, 1942, Fisher died of a heart attack at Newton Hospital. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and four sons. Fisher's four sons played together at his alma mater, Phillips Academy and went on to play for Harvard. Three of them played together on the 1942 team while the fourth was unavailable due to military commitments. At the time of his death, Fisher resided in

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protection of the town's historic resourc ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Bob 1888 births 1942 deaths All-American college football players American football guards Coaches of American football from Massachusetts College Football Hall of Fame inductees Harvard Crimson football coaches Harvard Crimson football players Players of American football from Boston Sportspeople from Boston People from Weston, Massachusetts People from Dorchester, Massachusetts Phillips Academy alumni United States Army Signal Corps personnel United States Army personnel of World War I