Robert V. Whitlow (November 7, 1918 – July 11, 1997) was an American military officer, football coach, university

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 ...

, and sports club executive. He served as the first head football coach and athletic director of the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

in 1955. Whitlow had a twenty-year career in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and 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 opposing ...

, saw combat as both a bomber and fighter pilot. After his military service, he worked for the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise as its first "athletic director."

Early life and education

Whitlow was born in Calwa, California on November 7, 1918, to Victor and Elizabeth (née Drenth) Whitlow.Robert V. Whitlow
, West Point Association of Graduates, retrieved July 25, 2010. He attended Fairfax High School and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. Whitlow then went on to the

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 ...

, where he earned

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

in football as a tackle, baseball as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, and basketball.Army-Navy Battle Creates Interest Here; Many Local Grids Perform Busik, Howie Clark Among Top Players in Service Classic
''Los Angeles Times'', p. 23, November 25, 1941. On October 13, 1942, he pitched five innings as the starter against the New York Giants, and when he was removed from the game, the score was a 2–2 stalemate. He started again on May 27 against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, and helped Army to a 10–3 win, its first of the series since 1914. Whitlow earned his pilot wings as a first class cadet (senior), and was assigned to heavy bombers because of his large stature after graduating in January 1943.

Military service

Whitlow served in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

and saw aerial combat, initially as a B-24 Liberator pilot with the

458th Bombardment Group 458th may refer to: *458th Air Expeditionary Group The 458th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. The most recent known activa ...

. He later piloted P-51 Mustangs on reconnaissance missions with the Eighth Air Force Scouting Group. In 1944, ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' reported on one of his aerial engagements in which he shot down a German

Focke-Wulf 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' ("Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, th ...

fighter. All told, he logged 550 combat hours over the course of one bomber and three fighter tours, and destroyed eight enemy aircraft. Whitlow received the Silver Star, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, and eight

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

s. In the late 1940s, Major Whitlow served as an assistant coach for the Army football team at the

.Mexican Team Wins Silver Bowl Contest
''Reading Eagle'', December 21, 1947. In 1947, while assigned to the Air Staff at the Pentagon, Whitlow was selected for an officer exchange with the Mexican military academy, El Colegio Militar de Mexico. His duties there included coaching the Mexican cadets in football. Whitlow guided a Mexican team to victory against an American team from

Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...

, which included

Doc Blanchard Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (December 11, 1924 – April 19, 2009) was an American football player and serviceman who became the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, and was the first football player to win the James E. S ...

and

Arnold Tucker Young Arnold Tucker (January 5, 1924 – January 10, 2019) was a United States Air Force officer who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1947. Football career While lettering twice in football, Tucker wa ...

, in a December game he organized in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

called the "Silver Bowl". He was awarded the Mérito Militar de Mexico.

Air Force Academy

In 1955, Whitlow was appointed the head football coach and athletic director at the newly created

.77 Airmen Report For Grid Duty
''The Tuscaloosa News'', September 8, 1955. He served in that role for one season, and was replaced by Lawrence "Buck" Shaw. After the 1956 Air Force football team went 6–2–1, athletic director Whitlow turned down a bid offered for the

Junior Rose Bowl The Pasadena Bowl, known as the Junior Rose Bowl from 1946 to 1966 and again in 1976 and 1977, was a college football bowl game. Between 1946 and 1966 and again in 1976 and 1977, the game pitted the California Junior College football champions ag ...

. He wired the bowl organizers to inform them that the superintendent, Major General James Briggs, had "disapproved participation of heAir Force Academy football team in post-season competition" after consulting with

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

. In 1957, his three-year tour of duty ended, and he was reassigned within the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

. In the 1960s, he held assignments in Germany and France. Whitlow was then assigned to Air Defense Sector, Montana and qualified on the

F-101 Voodoo The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter which served the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a long-range bomber escort (known as a ...

fighter.

Later life

Whitlow retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1963 at the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, and was appointed as "athletic director" of the Chicago Cubs baseball club. The position was created as part of the

College of Coaches The College of Coaches was an unorthodox baseball organizational practice employed by the National League's Chicago Cubs in and . After the Cubs finished 60–94 in , their 14th straight NL second-division finish, Cubs owner P. K. Wrigley anno ...

experiment, and outranked general manager John Holland. The unique arrangement was widely ridiculed by people associated with the franchise. One of his contributions was the installation of weight training equipment in the team's clubhouse, an uncommon practice at the time. Less well-received was his construction of a batter's background screen which doubled the height of the barrier and was derided as "Whitlow's wall". Whitlow remained with the organization for two years. In the 1980s, Whitlow was the president of the "Arizona Firebirds", a group of investors that sought to bring a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

expansion franchise to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. In 1984, commenting on widespread speculation that the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

would relocate to Arizona, Whitlow said, "Until they're actually here, I won't accept it ... I'm really very surprised that anything is this close, especially because they don't have their own place to play. This doesn't seem very wise from the Eagles' point of view." Whitlow also owned the Phoenix Roadrunners minor league hockey team.Founders see a hot future with pecan-shell briquets
''Arizona Daily Star'', August 17, 1994. Whitlow died on July 11, 1997, at his summer home in

Harbor Point, Michigan West Traverse Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,606 at the 2010 census. Communities *Harbor Point is an unincorporated community in a noncontiguous part of the township on a peni ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlow, Robert V 1918 births 1997 deaths Air Force Falcons athletic directors Air Force Falcons football coaches Army Black Knights football coaches Army Black Knights football players Chicago Cubs executives Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star United States Air Force officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Military Academy alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Sportspeople from Fresno County, California Players of American football from California