Bob Fitch
 Fitch in 1940 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Fitch |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | July 29, 1919 Audubon, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 2003 (aged 83) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Sport | |
| Country | USA |
| Sport | American football, discus throw, golf |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best | DT – 54.93 m (1946)[1] |
Robert E. Fitch (July 28, 1919 – April 15, 2003)[1] was an American athlete and coach. He broke the world record in the discus throw in 1946 with a mark of 54.93 m (180 ft 2+3⁄4 in). He developed a rotational technique referred to as the "Minnesota Whip" and delivered a masters thesis on the subject. His training mate Fortune Gordien went on to break world records and win Olympic medals.
Fitch was a two-time American champion in the discus (1942 and 1946) and was the winner of the 1942 NCAA Championships. He was also part of the University of Minnesota championship-winning college football. He later became golf coach for Indiana University and developed the team into a top level NCAA side, winning six Big Ten Conference titles during his tenure from 1957 to 1989 – a record for an Indiana coach.
Career
Born in
After graduating, he served in the United States Coast Guard for several years and was stationed Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut in 1942 as a chief boatswain's mate.[5] While at the Coast Guard Academy, he helped coach the football team.[6] While stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune as a coast guardsman, he was selected by the Associated Press as an end on the 1943 All-American Service team.[7] He was discharged in the fall of 1945 as a chief specialist after 39 months of service.[8]
After his military service, he then returned to education at Minnesota, starting a master's degree in physiology. It was in this second stint at the university that his discus throwing reached its peak. Under the guidance of Jim Kelly, Minnesota's track coach, he began experimenting with technique to find a better way of throwing the discus. Kelly credited Fitch with inventing a method of throwing called the "Minnesota Whip", which is now the accepted style worldwide.[2] This was a development for the sport, which frequently still had rough earth in throwing circles. It was Fitch that mastered the technique first – on June 8, 1946, he threw a discus throw world record of 54.93 m (180 ft 2+3⁄4 in), bettering the mark of Adolfo Consolini by more than half a meter.[9][10] He secured the United States discus title for a second time that year.[11]
Gordien went on to follow in Fitch's footsteps by winning the NCAA title, and had three straight wins at the competition from 1946 to 1948. Fitch was unable to start international competition – amateur athletes were self-funded at the time and he needed a job to live[12] – but Gordien went on to win the Pan American Games title in 1955 and two Olympic Games medals in 1948 and 1956.[13] The younger Gordien became the more decorated of the two, winning seven national titles between 1947 and 1954,[11] and broke the world record on four occasions, his best being 59.28 m (194 ft 5+3⁄4 in) in 1953.[9]
Working with Gordien while continuing his studies, Fitch produced his masters thesis Mechanical analysis of the discus throw in 1951.[14] He also served as an assistant college football coach for Indiana University. He asked the Indiana athletic director if he could stop coaching to focus on his doctoral studies. The director instead offered him a position to reorganise the school's golf course, which was becoming a financial drain. Fitch accepted the position, becoming the Indiana Hoosiers head coach for golf in the process.[12]
As the head of Hoosiers golf, he transformed both the team and turned the course into a profitable venture.
On August 29, 1942, Fitch married Helen Dichensheets.[16] He died on April 5, 2003, in Bloomington, Indiana.[15]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings (North Central Conference) (1947) | |||||||||
| 1947 | Augustana | 3–5 | 2–3 | 5th | |||||
| Augustana: | 3–5 | 2–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 3–5 | ||||||||
References
- ^ a b Robert Fitch. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ a b Bob Fitch. Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS (MEN). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS (MEN 1876–1942). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ "Miss Helen Louise Dickensheets Chooses August 29 to Marry Robert E. Fitch", Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, volume LXXVI, number 91, August 23, 1942, page 2.
- Binghamton Press, Binghamton, New York, volume 64, number 224, January 4, 1943, page 13.
- ^ Royal, Chip. "All-American Service Team, Coaches Dream", Wilkes-Barre Record, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, December 11, 1943, page 17.
- ^ "Fitch Back in School! May Play", Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, volume LXXIX, number 129, September 30, 1945, page 4.
- ^ a b "13th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2011" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2011. pp. 606, 607. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- Nevada State Journal. June 9, 1946. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ^ a b UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS (MEN 1943–). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ Des Moines Register. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ Fortune Gordien. Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ Mechanical analysis of the discus throw. WorldCat. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ a b c Hoosier Athletics Mourns Loss of Former Coach Archived November 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Indiana Hoosiers (May 9, 2009). Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
- ^ File:Bob Fitch marriage 1942.jpg
