John Edmund Fries
Encyclopedia
John Edmund "Jack" Fries was an American Football
player, coach, and sports figure in the United States.
for the Carroll College Pioneers located in Waukesha
, Wisconsin
. In his senior year, he was captain of the team that he played on for four years. As a player, he would witness his opposing team throw the first legal forward pass
on September 5, 1906 in a 22–0 against Saint Louis University
.
Fries also played on the basketball
team at Carroll and his brother Aruthur (who students affectionately called "Nuts") played left tackle for the football team.
coach for his alma mater and he held that position for four seasons, from 1914 until 1918 and then returning for the 1920 season. His career coaching record at Carroll College was 11 wins, 14 losses, and 5 ties. This ranks him 12th at Carroll College in total wins and 19th at Carroll College in winning percentage. The school did not field a team in 1917 because of World War I
. His best season was 1914 with a 5–1–0 record, defeating Marquette
and Lake Forest
. His teams also played Loyola
, Michigan
, and Michigan State
. The Michigan Wolverines soundly beat them by a score of 54 to 0 in the 1916 season under legendary coach Fielding Yost
, where Carroll only produced one first down the entire game.
While coaching, he also was the physical director
and professor of mathematics
at Carroll.
In 1986, the school honored his contribution to sports at the school by inducting him into their "Athletic Hall of Fame" for exemplary performance in competition and their contributions to athletics at Carroll.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach, and sports figure in the United States.
Playing history
Fries played right tackleTackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
for the Carroll College Pioneers located in Waukesha
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Waukesha is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The population was 70,718 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in the county and 7th largest in the state. The city is located adjacent to the Town of Waukesha...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. In his senior year, he was captain of the team that he played on for four years. As a player, he would witness his opposing team throw the first legal forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
on September 5, 1906 in a 22–0 against Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
.
Fries also played on the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team at Carroll and his brother Aruthur (who students affectionately called "Nuts") played left tackle for the football team.
Coaching history
Fries was named the 11th head college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
coach for his alma mater and he held that position for four seasons, from 1914 until 1918 and then returning for the 1920 season. His career coaching record at Carroll College was 11 wins, 14 losses, and 5 ties. This ranks him 12th at Carroll College in total wins and 19th at Carroll College in winning percentage. The school did not field a team in 1917 because of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. His best season was 1914 with a 5–1–0 record, defeating Marquette
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
and Lake Forest
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
. His teams also played Loyola
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...
, Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. The Michigan Wolverines soundly beat them by a score of 54 to 0 in the 1916 season under legendary coach Fielding Yost
Fielding Yost
Fielding Harris Yost was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Ohio Wesleyan University , the University of Nebraska–Lincoln , the University of Kansas , Stanford University , San Jose State University , and the University...
, where Carroll only produced one first down the entire game.
While coaching, he also was the physical director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
and professor of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Carroll.
In 1986, the school honored his contribution to sports at the school by inducting him into their "Athletic Hall of Fame" for exemplary performance in competition and their contributions to athletics at Carroll.