# Fred Brice

Fred Mansfield Brice (December 6, 1887 – January 10, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach.

## Early life

Brice was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. 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.

## Coaching

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. 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. 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.

## Later life

Brice died at the age of 79 on January 10, 1967, at his home in Pittsfield, New Hampshire.

## Head coaching record
### Football

| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing |
| Maine Black Bears (Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1921–1940) ||||||
| 1921 | Maine | 2–5–1 | 0–2–1 | |
| 1922 | Maine | 6–2 | 3–0 | 1st |
| Maine: | Maine: | 8–7–1 | 3–2–1 | |
| Maine Black Bears (New England Conference / Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1923–1940) ||||||
| 1923 | Maine | 5–3 | 3–0 / 2–1 | 1st / |
| 1924 | Maine | 4–3–1 | 1–2 / 2–0–1 | 3rd / 1st |
| 1925 | Maine | 5–2–1 | 1–0–1 / 3–0 | 2nd / 1st |
| 1926 | Maine | 7–1 | 2–1 / 3–0 | T–2nd / 1st |
| 1927 | Maine | 6–1 | 3–0 / 2–1 | 1st / |
| 1928 | Maine | 4–1–2 | 2–0–1 / 2–0–1 | T–1st / T–1st |
| 1929 | Maine | 2–5 | 1–2 / 1–2 | T–3rd / |
| 1930 | Maine | 3–4 | 2–1 / 1–2 | 2nd / |
| 1931 | Maine | 4–3 | 1–2 / 3–0 | 3rd / 1st |
| 1932 | Maine | 5–1–1 | 2–0–1 / 3–0 | 1st / 1st |
| 1933 | Maine | 4–3 | 0–2 / 3–0 | 4th / 1st |
| 1934 | Maine | 4–3 | 0–2 / 3–0 | 4th / 1st |
| 1935 | Maine | 3–3–1 | 2–0 / 0–2–1 | 1st / |
| 1936 | Maine | 4–3 | 1–1 / 2–1 | 2nd / 2nd |
| 1937 | Maine | 2–3–2 | 0–1–1 / 1–1–1 | 3rd / |
| 1938 | Maine | 3–4 | 2–1 / 1–2 | 2nd / |
| 1939 | Maine | 5–2 | 3–0 / 1–2 | 1st / |
| 1940 | Maine | 1–6 | 1–2 / 0–3 | T–3rd / 4th |
| Maine: | Maine: | 79–58–9 | 27–17–4 (New England) 36–19–5 (MIAA) | |
| Total: | Total: | 79–58–9 | | |
| National championship  Conference title  Conference division title or championship game berth ||||||

### Baseball

Below is a table of Brice's records as a collegiate head baseball coach.
Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall |
| 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: | Total: | 67–60 |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||