Dick Harlow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard C. “Dick” Harlow (October 19, 1889 – February 19, 1962) was a Hall of Fame football coach. Harlow pioneered modern defensive schemes. Often fielding undersized teams, he pioneered coordinated stunts to get around or between blockers rather than trying to overpower them. His offenses were based on deception and timing rather than power, utilizing shifts, reverses, and lateral passes.
As a tackle at Penn State University, Harlow distinguished himself during the 1910 and 1911 seasons. A two-year letterman, he also was a member of the baseball and track and field teams. Upon graduation, he remained with the Nittany Lions as an assistant coach for three seasons and was named head coach in 1915. After compiling a 20-8-0 record in three seasons, Harlow entered the military in 1918.
He returned to Penn State as assistant coach in 1919. Harlow went on to become the head coach at Colgate University from 1922 to 1925 and Western Maryland College from 1926 to 1934.
In 1935, Harlow became the first non-alumnus ever to coach at Harvard. It was there Harlow was voted Coach-of-the-Year in 1936 and a year later was chosen as the Ivy League Coach-of-the-Year. He retired in 1947 with a lifetime record of 150-68-17, and was named to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
Harlow was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| Preceded by: Bill Hollenback |
Penn State University Head Football Coaches 1915-1917 |
Succeeded by: Hugo Bezdek |
[edit] Miscellanea
Harlow was an expert in Oology, the study of birds' eggs. In 1939, he was named curator of oology at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and he remained in that position until 1954.
| Penn State Nittany Lions Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Hoskins • Newton • Boyle • Golden • Reed • Fennell • J. Hollenback • B. Hollenback • Harlow • Bezdek • Higgins • Bedenk • Engle • Paterno |
