Harold A. Fisher (February 6, 1882December 29, 1967) was an American

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach from

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1905, while a student and player at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Fisher began coaching the basketball team of Fordham University, leading the team to a 4–2 record while capturing All-American honors as a player and leading Columbia to its second straight national championship. In 1906, Fisher assumed the head coaching duties at Columbia, where he would remain for ten years, during which times his teams amassed a record of 101–39 and won three

Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League was an athletic conference for men's college basketball, beginning with the 1901–02 season and ending with the 1954–55 season. Its membership ranged from four to eight members; all of these te ...

titles; in 1909 and 1910, Fisher simultaneously coached Columbia and St. John's University, helping the latter to a 15–5 record during his tenure. In recognition of his work at Columbia, Fisher was commissioned by

General 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 ...

to coach the basketball team at

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

after

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 ...

. He assumed the job in 1921 and coached three seasons at the school, leaving with a record of 46–5. His 1922–23 team finished the season with a 17–0 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. For his work in developing the game of basketball, first as a member of a four-person committee that wrote the first rules for collegiate basketball and the editor of the resulting "Collegiate Rules Committee and Collegiate Guide" (1905–1915), and later as

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 ...

at Columbia (1911–1917), Fisher was inducted as a contributor into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974.

References

External links

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame profile

College Basketball Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Harry 1882 births 1967 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American military personnel of World War I Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Columbia Lions athletic directors Columbia Lions baseball coaches Columbia Lions baseball players Columbia Lions football coaches Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Columbia Lions men's basketball players Fordham Rams men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees St. John's Red Storm men's basketball coaches