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Bob Higgins (American football)

American football player and coach (1893–1969)

Field	Value
name	Bob Higgins
image	Bob Higgins.jpg
birth_date
birth_place	Corning, New York, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, U.S.
player_years1	1914–1917
player_team1	Penn State
player_years2	1919
player_team2	Penn State
player_years3	1920–1921
player_team3	Canton Bulldogs
player_positions	End
coach_years1	1920
coach_team1	West Virginia Wesleyan
coach_years2	1922–1924
coach_team2	West Virginia Wesleyan
coach_years3	1925–1927
coach_team3	Washington University
coach_years4	1928–1929
coach_team4	Penn State (assistant)
coach_years5	1930–1948
coach_team5	Penn State
overall_record	123–83–16
bowl_record	1–0–1
awards	2× Consensus All-American (1915, 1919)
CFBHOF_year	1954
CFBHOF_id	1596

Robert A. Higgins (November 24, 1893 – June 6, 1969) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Pennsylvania State University, where he was a three-time All-American. He then played professionally with the Canton Bulldogs from 1920 to 1921. Higgins served as the head football coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College (1920, 1922–1924), Washington University in St. Louis (1925–1927), and Pennsylvania State University, compiling a career college football record of 123–83–16. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.

Playing career

Collegiate

89th Division team, Higgins in front row at left

Higgins played at Penn State from 1914 to 1917, and was named an All-American in 1915. During World War I, he left Penn State to serve as a U.S. Army officer in France. As part of the occupation force after the Armistice, Higgins played right end for the 89th Division squad that won the AEF football championship in March 1919. After being discharged, he returned to captain Penn State, earning All-America honors again in 1919. In a 20–0 victory over Pittsburgh that season, Higgins caught a pass from Walter Hess and turned it into a thrilling 92-yard touchdown and was immortalized in Knute Rockne's "Great Football Plays."

Professional

In 1920 and 1921, Higgins played end for the Canton Bulldogs of the National Football League.

Coaching career

Higgins coached four seasons at West Virginia Wesleyan (1920, 1922–1924), and three seasons at Washington University in St. Louis. He returned to Penn State in 1928, first as an assistant coach, before becoming head coach in 1930. He served as head coach there for the next 19 seasons. He led the Nittany Lions to only the second unbeaten season in the school's history, culminating in a tie versus Southern Methodist University in the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic. It marked only the second time that Penn State had played in a bowl game.

Ill health forced Higgins' retirement after the 1948 season, but he remained at Penn State as a special assistant in the Physical Education Department until his retirement in November 1951. His overall coaching record was 123–83–16. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Family

Higgins was a brother of Margaret Sanger, famed campaigner for birth control, family planning and social reform. His youngest daughter, Nancy married, James J. Dooley Jr., who was a second-team All-American center in 1952 at Penn State. Their son, James J. Dooley III, played football at Penn State from 1979 to 1981. Their other son, Peter Dooley, was on the cross country and track and field teams at Penn State from 1982 to 84. Higgin's eldest grandson, Robert Lyford, son of Higgins eldest daughter Mary Ann, played basketball at Penn State during the late 1960s.

Higgins' daughter Virginia ("Ginger") married All-American guard and fellow College Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Suhey. He is the maternal grandfather of Penn State standouts Paul Suhey and Larry Suhey and former Chicago Bears fullback, Matt Suhey. More recently, Paul's son, Kevin, and Matt's son, Joe, have played for the Nittany Lions. The Higgins-Suhey family has been called the "first family of Penn State football", with 90 years of involvement with the program.

Head coaching record

References

Cart, Doran L.. (Autumn 2006). "Kansas Football "Over There"".
(September 6, 1966). "Margaret Sanger obituary". [[Toledo Blade]].
(November 23, 2011). "Ginger Suhey, Matriarch of Penn State First Family of Football, Dies".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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