Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler went 116–32–9 as a head coach, 1930–1947, at Minnesota, Princeton and Michigan. His teams claim three national titles: Princeton in 1933 and 1935 and Michigan in 1947. Share
- Record
- 116–32–9 career
- Seasons
- 18
- Schools
- 3
- National titles
- 3 claimed: 1933, 1935 and 1947
- Hall of Fame
- 1954 inducted
- Best season
- 1947 10–0, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Minnesota | 3–4–1 | T–6th | |||
| 1931 | Minnesota | 7–3 | 5th | |||
| 1932 | Princeton | 2–2–3 | ||||
| 1933 | Princeton | 9–0 | ||||
| 1934 | Princeton | 7–1 | ||||
| 1935 | Princeton | 9–0 | ||||
| 1936 | Princeton | 4–2–2 | ||||
| 1937 | Princeton | 4–4 | ||||
| 1938 | Michigan | 6–1–1 | T–2nd | 16 | ||
| 1939 | Michigan | 6–2 | T–3rd | 20 | ||
| 1940 | Michigan | 7–1 | 2nd | 3 | ||
| 1941 | Michigan | 6–1–1 | T–2nd | 5 | ||
| 1942 | Michigan | 7–3 | T–3rd | 9 | ||
| 1943 | Michigan | 8–1 | T–1st | 3 | ||
| 1944 | Michigan | 8–2 | 2nd | 8 | ||
| 1945 | Michigan | 7–3 | 2nd | 6 | ||
| 1946 | Michigan | 6–2–1 | 2nd | 6 | ||
| 1947 | Michigan | 10–0 | 1st | Rose Bowl W | 2 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Tom Harmon
Bob Chappuis
Elmer Madar
Bob Westfall
Elroy Hirsch
Al Wistert
Julius Franks
Bill Daley
Biggie Munn
Merv Pregulman
Don Lund
Forest Evashevski
Pepper ConstableFourth in the 1935 Heisman vote- Ralph HeikkinenConsensus All‑American, 1938
- Jac WellerConsensus All‑American, 1935
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 30 | 15–11–4 | 57% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 10–10–1 | 50% |
| Against rivals | 70 | 47–18–5 | 71% |
| Conference games | 65 | 46–16–3 | 73% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 45 | 22–14–9 | 59% |
| At home | 107 | 85–15–7 | 83% |
| On the road | 49 | 30–17–2 | 63% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 126 | 105–15–6 | 86% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 31 | 11–17–3 | 40% |
His own 157 games on file, 1930–1947, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pappy Waldorf 1931–1946 | 7–0–2 | Oklahoma State, Northwestern | 9 | |
| Bernie Bierman 1938–1947 | 3–5 | Minnesota, Iowa Pre-Flight | 8 | |
| Charlie Bachman 1938–1946 | 7–0 | Michigan State | 7 | |
| Ray Eliot 1942–1947 | 5–1 | Illinois | 6 | |
| Ducky Pond 1934–1939 | 3–3 | Yale | 6 | |
| Red Blaik 1934–1946 | 2–3–1 | Dartmouth, Army | 6 | |
| Dick Harlow 1935–1942 | 3–1–1 | Harvard | 5 | |
| Bo McMillin 1943–1947 | 3–2 | Indiana | 5 | |
| George Munger 1938–1944 | 4–0 | Pennsylvania | 4 | |
| Edward Anderson 1939–1946 | 4–0 | Iowa | 4 |
Fritz Crisler’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio Stateseries | 11 | 8–2–1 |
| Northwesternseries | 11 | 7–2–2 |
| Illinoisseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| Minnesotaseries | 10 | 5–5 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Yaleseries | 8 | 4–3–1 |
| Pennsylvaniaseries | 6 | 5–1 |
| Wisconsinseries | 6 | 5–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922–29 | Chicago | Assistant coach | |
| 1930–31 | Minnesota | Head coach | |
| 1932–37 | Princeton | Head coach | |
| 1938–47 | Michigan | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Amos Alonzo StaggChicago
Assistants who became head coaches
- Tad WiemanMichigan, Princeton
- Bennie OosterbaanMichigan
- Biggie MunnSyracuse, Michigan State, Albright
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amos Alonzo Stagg | Chicago | 1922–29 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (3)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tad Wieman | Minnesota, 1930–31: first assistant and line coach; Princeton, 1932–37: assistant coach | Michigan, Princeton | |
| Bennie Oosterbaan | Michigan, 1938–47: assistant coach | Michigan | |
| Biggie Munn | Michigan, 1938–45: assistant coach | Syracuse, Michigan State, Albright |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.