Fred Brice
![]() Brice pictured in The Prism 1939, Maine yearbook | |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S. | December 6, 1887
Died | January 10, 1967 Pittsfield, New Hampshire, U.S. | (aged 79)
Alma mater | Boston School of Optometry |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1908-1910 | Pinkerton Academy |
1911–1920 | Manchester Central (NH) |
1921–1940 | Maine |
Basketball | |
1925–1929 | Maine |
Baseball | |
1926–1935 | Maine |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 79–58–9 (football) 14–31 (basketball) 67–60 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Football 10 Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1922, 1924–1928, 1931–1934) Baseball 5 Maine State Series (1926, 1927, 1930–1932) | |
Fred Mansfield Brice (December 6, 1887 – January 10, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach.
Early life
[edit]Brice was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.[1] He graduated from the Boston School of Optometry in 1908 and divided his time between coaching and optometry until he suffered a gas attack during World War I, which led to his doctors recommending he spend more time outside.[2]
Coaching
[edit]Brice began his career at the Pinkerton Academy. He then moved to his alma mater, Manchester High School Central, where he won ten state championships.[2] Brice served as the head football coach at the University of Maine from 1921 to 1940, compiling a record of 79–58–9 and winning 10 Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships. He was known for his use of trick plays. He was crediting with creating the triple pass from the single-wing formation and was credited with being the first coach in the eastern United States to used the spinner play and hidden ball trick.[2] He is the "Brice" in the name of the rivalry game with the New Hampshire Wildcats, the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket. Brice was also the head basketball coach at Maine from 1925 to 1929, tallying a mark of 14–31, and the school's head baseball coach from 1926 to 1935, amassing a record of 67–60. He retired on December 17, 1940.[2]
Later life
[edit]Brice died at the age of 79 on January 10, 1967, at his home in Pittsfield, New Hampshire.[1]
Head coaching record
[edit]Football
[edit]Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maine Black Bears (Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1921–1940) | |||||||||
1921 | Maine | 2–5–1 | |||||||
1922 | Maine | 6–2 | 1st | ||||||
1923 | Maine | 5–3 | |||||||
1924 | Maine | 4–3–1 | 1st | ||||||
1925 | Maine | 5–2–1 | 1st | ||||||
1926 | Maine | 7–1 | 1st | ||||||
1927 | Maine | 6–1 | T–1st | ||||||
1928 | Maine | 4–1–2 | T–1st | ||||||
1929 | Maine | 2–5 | |||||||
1930 | Maine | 3–4 | |||||||
1931 | Maine | 4–3 | 1st | ||||||
1932 | Maine | 5–1–1 | 1st | ||||||
1933 | Maine | 4–3 | 1st | ||||||
1934 | Maine | 4–3 | 1st | ||||||
1935 | Maine | 3–3–1 | |||||||
1936 | Maine | 4–3 | |||||||
1937 | Maine | 2–3–2 | |||||||
1938 | Maine | 3–4 | |||||||
1939 | Maine | 5–2 | |||||||
1940 | Maine | 1–6 | |||||||
Maine: | 79–58–9 | ||||||||
Total: | 79–58–9 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth |
Baseball
[edit]Below is a table of Brice's records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[3][4]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maine Black Bears (1926–1935) | |||||||||
1926 | Maine | 6–5 | |||||||
1927 | Maine | 7–4 | |||||||
1928 | Maine | 3–9 | |||||||
1929 | Maine | 8–6 | |||||||
1930 | Maine | 8–7 | |||||||
1931 | Maine | 7–6 | |||||||
1932 | Maine | 9–5 | |||||||
1933 | Maine | 7–5 | |||||||
1934 | Maine | 5–7 | |||||||
1935 | Maine | 7–6 | |||||||
Total: | 67–60 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Service Set For Fred Brice". The News-Dispatch. Jeannette, Pennsylvania. United Press International. January 11, 1967. p. 17. Retrieved October 23, 2011 – via Google News.
- ^ a b c d "Fred Brice Resigns As Head Football Coach At U. of Maine". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 18, 1940. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "2014 Maine Baseball Guide". Maine Athletic Media Relations. p. 36. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ "Baseball" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2014.