Higgins, Robert

Photo from College Football Hall of Fame

Born: November 24, 1893 (Corning, New York)

Died: June 6, 1969 (State College, Pensylvania)

Education:

  • 1919 Pennsylvania State University

Career:

  • 1920-21 Played professionally (End) for the Canton Bulldogs
  • 1920-24 Coached at West Virginia Wesleyan College
  • 1925-27 Coached at Washington University, St. Louis
  • 1928-29 Assistant Coach at Pennsylvania State University
  • 1930-1948 Head Coach at Pennsylvania State Univerity
  • Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 as a Coach

Notes:

  • All-American 1915, 1916 (fought in World War I), 1919
  • Led WVWC to a 9-7 victory over SMU in the 1925 Dixie Classic, his only Bowl win.  This event eventually became what we now know as the Cotton Bowl.
  • His sister was Margaret Sanger, famed campaigner for birth control, family planning and social reform.
  • He is the grandfather of former Chicago Bears fullback, Matt Suhey.
  • The Higgins-Suhey family has been called the “first family of Penn State Football”, with 90 years of involvement with the program.

Sources:

PLM 9/9/2019