:Harry J. Robertson

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1896–1962)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Harry J. Robertson

| image = Harry Robertson Oglethorpe Football.png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1896|3|4}}

| birth_place = Chambly, Quebec, Canada

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1962|1|7|1896|3|4}}

| death_place = Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1916–1917

| player_team1 = Syracuse

| player_years2 = 1919–1920

| player_team2 = Syracuse

| player_years3 = 1922

| player_team3 = Rochester Jeffersons

| player_positions = End, tackle

| coach_years1 = 1921–1923

| coach_team1 = Syracuse (line)

| coach_years2 = 1924–1933

| coach_team2 = Oglethorpe

| overall_record = 39–49–5

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships = 2 SIAA (1924–1925)

| awards = Oglethorpe Athletics Hall of Fame

| coaching_records =

}}

Harold J. Robertson (March 4, 1896 – January 7, 1962) was a Canadian-born player and coach of American football. He played one game as a professional football player with the Rochester Jeffersons of the National Football League (NFL) in 1922 and was the head football coach at Oglethorpe University from 1924 to 1933.

Biography

A native of Chambly, Quebec, Robertson grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts, and attended Somerville High School and Worcester Academy. In 1914 and 1915, Robertson and his brother Jim Robertson played summer baseball for the Falmouth "Cottage Club" team in what is now the Cape Cod Baseball League. While Jim played first base, Harry was a catcher, and was reportedly a "fast and aggressive" player.{{cite news | title = Baseball Games at Falmouth Heights Start With Rush | pages = 2 | newspaper = Falmouth Enterprise | location = Falmouth, MA | date = July 4, 1914 | url = http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/APA/Falmouth/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=FEN%2F1914%2F07%2F04&id=Ar00209&sk=DCDE6CB9&viewMode=image }}{{cite news | title = Baseball at Heights | pages = 7 | newspaper = Falmouth Enterprise | location = Falmouth, MA | date = August 14, 1915 | url = http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/APA/Falmouth/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=FEN%2F1915%2F08%2F14&id=Ar00700&sk=992C4825&viewMode=image }}{{cite news | title = Falmouth Baseball | pages = 6 | newspaper = Falmouth Enterprise | location = Falmouth, MA | date = August 14, 1926 | url = http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/APA/Falmouth/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=FEN%2F1926%2F08%2F14&id=Ar00600&sk=697AA444&viewMode=image }}{{cite news | title = Tommy Murray, Umpire of Old, Comes to Visit | pages = 5 | newspaper = Falmouth Enterprise | location = Falmouth, MA | date = August 19, 1958 | url = http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/APA/Falmouth/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=FEN%2F1958%2F08%2F19&id=Ar00514&sk=E949C90F&viewMode=image }}

Robertson served in the United States Army during World War I, and played on the football team at Camp Dix in 1918.{{cite book |last=Serb |first=Chris |date=2019 |title=War Football: World War I and the Birth of the NFL |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=199 |isbn=9781538124857 }} After his service, Robertson attended Syracuse University, where he played college football as an end, and was team captain. In 1920, Robertson captained his Syracuse squad against his brother Jim, who was captain of the Dartmouth team.{{cite book |last=Pender |first=Horace G. and Raymond M. McPartlin |date=1923 |title=Athletics at Dartmouth |location=Brattleboro, VT |publisher=Vermont Printing Company |pages=170–183 }} Robertson graduated from Syracuse in 1922, and later that year appeared in a single game for the Rochester Jeffersons of the National Football League (NFL), his only game as a professional.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RobeHa21.htm|title = Harry Robertson Stats|website = Pro-Football-Reference.com}}

Robertson served as a line coach at Syracuse from 1921 to 1923, and became the head football coach at Oglethorpe University in 1924, succeeding his brother, Jim, who had coached the Oglethorpe team in 1923.{{cite journal |author= |title=Harry Robertson |url=http://www.mocavo.com/Oglethorpe-University-Bulletin-June-1933-Vol-17-Volume-17/460242/39#39 |journal=Oglethorpe University Bulletin |volume=17 |page=31 |date=June 1933 |access-date=October 12, 2014 }}{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Jon |date=2012 |title=A History of College Football in Georgia: Glory on the Gridiron |location=Charleston, SC |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9781614236139 }} At Oglethorpe, Robertson led his team to back-to-back Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) titles in 1924 and 1925, and his 1926 team posted a landmark upset over William Alexander's Georgia Tech squad, winning by a score of 7 to 6.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nOoJtP98Pw4C&pg=PA38|page=38|title=Oglethorpe University|author=Anna A. Salter|year=2007|publisher=Arcadia |isbn=9780738552538}} Robertson led Oglethorpe for ten seasons, and was succeeded by John Patrick following the 1933 season.{{cite news |author= |title=New Oglethorpe Coach |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19340910&id=tPtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5lQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4290,833658 |newspaper=The Evening Independent |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |date=September 10, 1934 |access-date=October 12, 2014 }}

Robertson was inducted into the Oglethorpe Athletics Hall of Fame in 1962, and was remembered as "a football genius...lively, prankish and warmhearted." He died in Coral Gables, Florida in 1962 at age 65.{{cite web |url=https://www.gopetrels.com/information/Athletic_Hall_of_Fame |title=Oglethorpe Athletic Hall of Fame |publisher=gopetrels.com |access-date=January 9, 2020 |archive-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330200814/https://www.gopetrels.com/information/Athletic_Hall_of_Fame |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/flyingpetrelapri445ogle/flyingpetrelapri445ogle_djvu.txt |title=Coach Robertson Dies |publisher=Oglethorpe Alumni Association |date=April 1, 1962 |access-date=January 9, 2020}}

Head coaching record

{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels

| conf = Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

| startyear = 1924

| endyear = 1926

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1924

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 6–3–1

| conference = 5–0

| confstanding = T–1st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| year = 1925

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 8–3

| conference = 8–1

| confstanding = 1st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1926

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 3–7–1

| conference = 3–4–1

| confstanding = 17th

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1927

| endyear = single

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1927

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 2–6

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels

| conf = Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

| startyear = 1928

| endyear = 1929

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1928

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 3–5–1

| conference = 1–2

| confstanding = 22nd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1929

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 5–4–1

| conference = 1–2

| confstanding = 21st

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1930

| endyear = 1933

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1930

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 4–4–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1931

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 3–6

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1932

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 1–6

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1933

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 4–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Oglethorpe

| overall = 39–49–5

| confrecord = 15–5

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record End

| overall = 39–49–5

| bowls = no

| poll = no

| polltype =

}}

References

External links

{{Footballstats |nfl=harry-robertson |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=R/RobeHa21 |rotoworld= }}

Category:1896 births

Category:1962 deaths

Category:American football ends

Category:American football tackles

Category:Canadian players of American football

Category:Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era)

Category:Falmouth Commodores players

Category:Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels football coaches

Category:Rochester Jeffersons players

Category:Syracuse Orange football coaches

Category:Syracuse Orange football players

Category:Sportspeople from Chambly, Quebec

Category:Sportspeople from Somerville, Massachusetts

Category:Players of American football from Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Category:Coaches of American football from Massachusetts

Category:Players of American football from Worcester, Massachusetts