Robert Maguire Kolf (February 1, 1898 – May 31, 1990) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He was an alumnus of Oshkosh Normal School (later renamed the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh). He returned to the school as an instructor and coach in 1923. He was an athletic coach at the school for 45 years, leading the school to 29 conference championships in 10 sports. He was the football coach in 1929, from 1931 to 1942, and 1946 to 1962. He also served as the athletic director and coached basketball, tennis, track and field, and golf, among other sports.[1] He was part of the inaugural class inducted into the UW Oshkosh Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.[2] The Kolf Sports Center at Oshkosh opened in 1971 and was named in his honor.[3]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1898 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | March 31, 1990 (aged 92) Oshkosh, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1919–1921 | Oshkosh Normal |
| Basketball | |
| 1919–1922 | Oshkosh Normal |
| Baseball | |
| c. 1920 | Oshkosh Normal |
| Position(s) | Quarterback (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1926 | Ripon (backfield) |
| 1929 | Oshkosh State |
| 1931–1942 | Oshkosh State |
| 1946–1962 | Oshkosh State |
| Basketball | |
| 1922–1923 | Shawano HS (WI) |
| 1926–1927 | Ripon |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 59–123–16 (college football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 WSTCC Southern Division (1935) | |
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshkosh State Titans (Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference) (1929) | |||||||||
| 1929 | Oshkosh State | 3–4 | 3–2 | T–5th | |||||
| Oshkosh State Titans (Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference) (1931–1942) | |||||||||
| 1931 | Oshkosh State | 3–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1932 | Oshkosh State | 2–4–1 | 1–3–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1933 | Oshkosh State | 4–1–2 | 2–1–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1934 | Oshkosh State | 3–3–1 | 1–3 | 4th (Southern) | |||||
| 1935 | Oshkosh State | 6–0–1 | 4–0 | 1st (Southern) | |||||
| 1936 | Oshkosh State | 3–3–2 | 1–1–2 | T–2nd (Southern) | |||||
| 1937 | Oshkosh State | 0–7 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1938 | Oshkosh State | 1–6 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1939 | Oshkosh State | 1–5 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1940 | Oshkosh State | 1–5 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1941 | Oshkosh State | 0–6 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1942 | Oshkosh State | 0–5 | 0–4 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| Oshkosh State Titans (Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference / Wisconsin State College Conference) (1946–1962) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Oshkosh State | 2–4 | 2–2 | T–3rd (Southern) | |||||
| 1947 | Oshkosh State | 3–4 | 1–3 | 5th (Southern) | |||||
| 1948 | Oshkosh State | 1–4–1 | 1–4–1 | T–8th | |||||
| 1949 | Oshkosh State | 1–5 | 1–5 | 10th | |||||
| 1950 | Oshkosh State | 0–6 | 0–6 | 10th | |||||
| 1951 | Oshkosh State | 0–4–1 | 0–4–1 | 10th | |||||
| 1952 | Oshkosh State | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3rd (Southern) | |||||
| 1953 | Oshkosh State | 0–6 | 0–5 | T–9th | |||||
| 1954 | Oshkosh State | 2–2–2 | 2–2–2 | T–6th | |||||
| 1955 | Oshkosh State | 0–5–2 | 0–5–1 | 10th | |||||
| 1956 | Oshkosh State | 3–4 | 2–4 | 8th | |||||
| 1957 | Oshkosh State | 4–3 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1958 | Oshkosh State | 6–2 | 4–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1959 | Oshkosh State | 3–3–2 | 2–3–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1960 | Oshkosh State | 3–4 | 3–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1961 | Oshkosh State | 2–4 | 2–4 | T–8th | |||||
| 1962 | Oshkosh State | 0–7 | 0–7 | 10th | |||||
| Oshkosh State: | 59–123–16 | 39–102–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 59–123–16 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Zellmer, Doug (May 31, 1990). "Robert Kolf dies at 92: Oshkosh loses its own sports legend". The Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Link, Jacob (October 19, 2022). "Remembering the Titans: Robert Kolf". The Advance-Titan.
- ^ "Kolf Physical Education & Sports Center". University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Retrieved February 14, 2023.