Wes Fesler

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Wes Fesler
Date of birth June 29, 1908
Place of birth Youngstown, Ohio
Date of death July 30, 1989
Sport American football
School as a player
1929-1930 Ohio State University
Position End
Schools as a coach
1941-1942
1946
1947-1950
1951-1953		 Wesleyan
Pitt
Ohio State
Minnesota
College Football Hall of Fame, 1954

Wesley Eugene "Wes" Fesler (June 29, 1908 – July 30, 1989) was a three-sport athlete at the Ohio State University, including three consecutive years as a consensus first-team All-America selection in American football. He was later the football head coach at Wesleyan, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, and Minnesota, and the basketball head coach at Harvard and Princeton.

Contents

[edit] Athlete

Fesler came to Ohio State from Youngstown, Ohio. At Ohio State, Fesler was Phi Beta Kappa and earned a total of nine varsity letters in baseball, basketball, and football. He was a charter inductee in the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1977.

[edit] Football

Many believe Fesler's greatest talents were in football. He primarily played end and was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 1928 and 1929 and a unanimous first-team All-America selection in 1930. Depending on the game situation, he would sometimes move into the backfield as a fullback. In 1930, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten.

Jock Sutherland, the University of Pittsburgh coach, called Fesler "a one man team. It is unbelievable how that boy can do so many things." In 1939 Grantland Rice listed Fesler at end on his all-time college football team. Fesler was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Preceded by:
Bill Glassgow		 Big Ten Football MVP
1930		 Succeeded by:
Clarence Munn
Preceded by:
First award		 Ohio State Buckeyes
Football Season MVP
1930		 Succeeded by:
Robert Haubrich
Preceded by:
Alan Holman		 Ohio State Buckeyes
Football Captain
1930		 Succeeded by:
Stu Holcomb

[edit] Basketball

In basketball Fesler was a guard. He was the basketball captain as a junior in the Spring of 1930, and the football captain as a senior in the Autumn of that year. He was Ohio State's first consensus first-team All-America selection in 1931.

Preceded by:
George Van Heyde		 Ohio State Buckeyes
Basketball Captain
1930		 Succeeded by:
Dick Larkins

[edit] Coach

Fesler ignored interest from teams of the National Football League and instead pursued a career in coaching. He began his coaching career as an assistant to his Ohio State football coach, Sam Willaman, in 1931 and 1932. In 1933 Fesler accepted an offer from Harvard University as head coach of the basketball team and backfield coach of the football team. He stayed at Harvard until 1941. The position at Harvard turned out to be the longest tenure of his career.

In 1941 Fesler accepted an offer from Wesleyan University to be the head coach of their football team. Unfortunately the Wesleyan football program was interrupted in 1942 by World War II. In 1945 Fesler accepted an offer from Princeton as head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He was later the football head coach at the University of Pittsburgh (1946), Ohio State (1947-50) and the University of Minnesota (1951-53).

Fesler's 1949 Ohio State team was the Big Ten Conference co-champion and beat the University of California in the Rose Bowl. He helped develop the talents of 1950 Heisman Trophy winner Vic Janowicz at Ohio State and two-time Big Ten MVP (1952 and 1953) Paul Giel at Minnesota.

Fesler had a stronger record as a football coach than as a basketball coach. His combined record as football head coach (at Wesleyan, Pitt, Ohio State, and Minnesota) was 21-13-3. His combined record as basketball head coach (at Harvard and Princeton) was 67-108.

Preceded by:
Ed Wachter		 Harvard Crimson Head Basketball Coaches
1933-41		 Succeeded by:
Earl Brown
Preceded by:
Jack Blott		 Wesleyan Cardinals Head Football Coaches
1941-1942		 Succeeded by:
Norm Daniels
Preceded by:
Leonard Hattinger		 Princeton Tigers Head Basketball Coaches
1945-1946		 Succeeded by:
Franklin Cappon
Preceded by:
Clark Shaughnessy		 Pitt Panthers Head Football Coaches
1946		 Succeeded by:
Mike Milligan
Preceded by:
Paul O. Bixler		 Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coaches
1947-1950		 Succeeded by:
Wayne "Woody" Hayes
Preceded by:
Bernie Bierman		 Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Football Coaches
1951-1953		 Succeeded by:
Murray Warmath

[edit] External links


Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coaches
Lilley • Ryder • Hickey • Edwards • Eckstorm • Hale • Sweetland • Herrnstein • Jones • Vaughn • Richards • Wilce • Willaman • Schmidt • Brown • Widdoes • Bixler • Fesler • Hayes • Bruce • Cooper • Tressel
Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Football Coaches
Peebles • Jones • McCord • McCord • Heffelfinger • Morse • Eck • Moulton • Winter • Cochrane • Heffelfinger • Jerrems • Minds • Harrison • Leary • Williams • Spaulding • Spears • Crisler • Bierman • Hauser • Fesler • Warmath • Stoll • Salem • Holtz • Gutekunst • Wacker • Mason
Pitt Panthers Head Football Coaches
Harrold • Linn • Hoskins • Trenchard • Robinson • Jackson • Hockensmith • Crolius • Mosse • Wingard • Moorhead • Thompson • Duff • Warner • Sutherland • Bowser • Shaughnessy • Fesler • Milligan • Casanova • Hamilton • Dawson • Michelosen • Hart • DePasqua • Majors • Sherrill • Fazio • Gottfried • Hackett • Sunseri • Harris • Wannstedt
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