Wesley Fesler
Wesley Fesler went 41–40–8 as a head coach, 1941–1953, at Wesleyan, Pittsburgh, Ohio State and Minnesota. Share
Two seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1941–42 at Wesleyan. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 41–40–8 career
- Seasons
- 10
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Best season
- 1949 7–1–2, No. 6
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Wesleyan * | 4–4 | ||||
| 1942 | Wesleyan * | 3–5 | ||||
| 1943–45: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1946 | Pittsburgh | 3–5–1 | ||||
| 1947 | Ohio State | 2–6–1 | 9th | |||
| 1948 | Ohio State | 6–3 | 4th | |||
| 1949 | Ohio State | 7–1–2 | T–1st | Rose Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1950 | Ohio State | 6–3 | T–2nd | 14 | ||
| 1951 | Minnesota | 2–6–1 | 7th | |||
| 1952 | Minnesota | 4–3–2 | T–4th | |||
| 1953 | Minnesota | 4–4–1 | T–5th | |||
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. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
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 | 28 | 5–18–5 | 27% |
| Against top-10 teams | 19 | 2–13–4 | 21% |
| Against rivals | 22 | 8–10–4 | 45% |
| Conference games | 44 | 20–18–6 | 52% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 33 | 14–11–8 | 55% |
| At home | 44 | 24–15–5 | 60% |
| On the road | 28 | 9–16–3 | 38% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 32 | 22–9–1 | 70% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 41 | 12–22–7 | 38% |
His own 73 games on file, 1946–1953, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Voigts 1947–1953 | 5–2 | Northwestern | 7 | |
| Ray Eliot 1946–1953 | 3–4 | Illinois | 7 | |
| Bennie Oosterbaan 1948–1953 | 1–4–1 | Michigan | 6 | |
| Ivy Williamson 1949–1953 | 2–1–2 | Wisconsin | 5 | |
| Clyde Smith 1948–1951 | 4–0 | Indiana | 4 | |
| Don Faurot 1947–1949 | 3–0 | Missouri | 3 | |
| Walter Milligan 1947–1949 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh | 3 | |
| Jeff Cravath 1947–1949 | 1–1–1 | USC | 3 | |
| Pappy Waldorf 1949–1952 | 1–2 | California | 3 | |
| Stuart Holcomb 1947–1952 | 0–2–1 | Purdue | 3 |
Wesley Fesler’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwesternseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Indianaseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Illinoisseries | 7 | 3–4 |
| Michiganseries | 7 | 1–5–1 |
| Wisconsinseries | 6 | 3–1–2 |
| Iowaseries | 6 | 2–2–2 |
| Pittsburghseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| USCseries | 4 | 1–2–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931–32 | Ohio State | Assistant coach | |
| 1933–40 | Harvard | Backfield coach | |
| 1941–42 | Wesleyan | Head coach | |
| 1945 | Princeton | Assistant coach | |
| 1946 | Pittsburgh | Head coach | |
| 1947–50 | Ohio State | Head coach | |
| 1951–53 | Minnesota | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Sam WillamanOhio State
- Eddie CaseyHarvard
- Dick HarlowHarvard
- Charles CaldwellPrinceton
Assistants who became head coaches
- Walter MilliganPittsburgh
- Carroll WiddoesOhio State, Ohio
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Willaman | Ohio State | 1931–32 | Assistant coach | |
| Eddie Casey | Harvard | 1933–34 | Backfield coach | |
| Dick Harlow | Harvard | 1935–40 | Backfield coach | |
| Charles Caldwell | Princeton | 1945 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Milligan | Pittsburgh, 1946: line coach | Pittsburgh | |
| Carroll Widdoes | Ohio State, 1947–48: assistant coach | Ohio State, Ohio |
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.