Keene Fitzpatrick Keene Fitzpatrick ( December 25 , 1864 – May 22 , 1944 ) was an American track coach , athletic trainer , professor of physical training and gymnasium director for 42 years at Yale University ( 1890 – 1891 , 1896 – 1898 ) , the University of Michigan ( 1894 – 1895 , 1898 – 1910 ) , and Princeton University ( 1910 – 1932 ) . He was considered " one of the pioneers of intercollegiate sport . " Early years . Fitzpatrick was born in either 1864 or 1865 in Massachusetts . His father was born in Ireland . As a young man in the 1880s , Fitzpatrick was a sprinter with the national champion Natick Hook and Ladder Company team . As a coach , he is credited with inventing a new pole - vaulting technique and with coaching numerous Olympic gold medalists , including Archie Hahn , Ralph Rose , Charles Dvorak and Ralph Craig . He was also the trainer for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1894 to 1895 and 1898 – 1909 , including Fielding H . Yost ' s legendary " point - a - minute " teams from 1901 to 1905 . Fitzpatrick was born in Natick , Massachusetts in 1864 . He died in Princeton , New Jersey at age 79 in 1944 . Natick Hook and Ladder Company . In the late 1870s and 1880s , New England was " the home of the professional athlete . " Teams of professional sprinters formed in New England . For a decade , the sport thrived , and Fitzpatrick was one of the leading sprinters . Sprinters took up residence in small towns and competed with the local fire companies that engaged in hose races with other companies . Fitzpatrick " was one of the first to organize the famous hose , hook and ladder teams , when racing of this kind was so popular and the rivalry between Massachusetts towns was keen . " The " Natick Hook and Ladder Company " was the most successful of the New England teams , becoming " the world ' s championship organization . " The Natick team in the 1880s included Fitzpatrick and some of the leading sprinters of the era , including Mike Murphy , William F . Donovan , Sid Peet , Johnny Mack , Steve Farrell , and world champion Piper Donovan . In 1885 , the only sweepstake race to determine the national champion of American professional sprinters was held and won by Natick ' s Piper Donovan . Several members of the Natick Hook and Ladder Cmpany went on to become leading trainers at American universities , leading to Massachusetts being called the " mother of athletic mentors . " Professional career . Yale University . In 1890 and 1891 , Fitzpatrick was an athletic trainer at Yale University . Legendary football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg was a pupil of Fitzpatrick at Yale in 1890 . " Time " magazine wrote in its obituary of Fitzpatrick : " When he was just beginning his coaching career , at Yale , he gave later - famed coach Amos Alonzo Stagg a primer course in the art of the fast breakaway . " Detroit Athletic Club . In 1892 , Fitzpatrick ' s former Natick teammate , Mike Murphy , left his job as trainer at the Detroit Athletic Club to become the trainer at Yale . On Murphy ' s recommendation , Fitzpatrick was hired to replace him in Detroit , a position which he held until 1894 . While Fitzpatrick was the trainer in Detroit , the club ' s leading sprinter , Harry S . Jewett , was the champion sprinter of the United States and Canada . In 1892 , Jewett won the American 100 - yard and one - furlong championships . Jewett also set an American record in the 220 - yard dash in 1893 . University of Michigan : 1894 – 1896 . In 1894 , Fitzpatrick was hired by the University of Michigan as the trainer for the school ' s football team . During Fitzpatrick ' s first stint as Michigan ' s trainer , the football teams had two of the best seasons in the school ' s history . The team lost only one game each year and outscored opponents 510 - 98 . During these two seasons , Michigan also proved that a Western football team could compete with the major Eastern schools that dominated the game to that time . In 1894 , Michigan defeated Cornell , 12 - 4 , and in 1895 , the team beat Harvard , 4 - 0 . The victory over Cornell in 1894 marked the first time that a Western school defeated an established power from the East . Prior to 1894 , Michigan had never beaten one of the Eastern powers , losing to Yale , 46 - 0 in 1883 , and to Cornell , 56 - 0 in 1889 , 58 - 12 in 1891 , and 44 - 0 in 1892 . The team ' s record in 1894 and 1895 is set forth below . After two seasons at Michigan , Fitzpatrick had proven his value as an " expert trainer of football squads " and was recruited by Yale . When Fitzpatrick accepted the job at Yale , " The Philadelphia Inquirer " described the impact of his departure on the Michigan football team : " The greatest loss , however , is Keene Fitzpatrick , the popular and efficient trainer , who has just accepted an offer from Yale , and will henceforth fill ' Mike ' Murphy ' s place there . This loss is irreparable in the opinion of the Michigan men , for ' Fitz ' has always been the prime factor in building up the teams for the past years , and had the confidence and esteem of every student . " Return to Yale : 1896 – 1898 . Fitzpatrick returned to Yale from 1896 to 1897 as the trainer of the school ' s track and football teams . For the second time , Fitzpatrick was hired to replace his old Natick teammate Mike Murphy , this time as Yale ' s trainer . In September 1896 , one newspaper describe his hiring this way : " Keene Fitzpatrick . . . has just signed a contract to train Yale ' s track team for one year . . . . In his younger days he won fame as a sprinter of great ability . He is a personal friend of Murphy and one of his pupils . . . . Fitzpatrick will have charge of the other teams also , and will report Sept . 18 , when the football squad will begin active training at the Yale field . . . . It is reported that the salary will be the same as that paid to Murphy , $ 1 , 500 . " Fitzpatrick was described elsewhere as " a thoroughly good man who knows all about track and field athletics , " but also " energetically devoted " to football — unlike many trainers who are " jealous of football " due to its damaging impact on " finely tempered men . " Invention of new pole - vaulting technique . While at Yale , Fitzpatrick proved himself to be an innovator in track and field by inventing a new pole - vaulting technique . Dr . R . G . Clapp , who later spent 40 years as an athletic trainer and coach at the University of Nebraska , trained as a pole vaulter under Fitzpatrick in 1897 . Clapp recalled that Fitzpatrick came to Yale with a " new idea on gripping the pole . " Fitzpatrick " advocated sliding the lower hand up the pole to meet the upper hand at the takeoff instead of the prevailing system of taking off with the hands spread . " Clapp was the first pole - vaulter to take up Fitzpatrick ' s suggestion , and the two worked together on coordinating the other essentials of the vault with the hand slide . In 1898 , after perfecting the technique , Clapp set a world record in the pole - vault ( 11 feet , 10½ inches ) that stood for six years . Clapp later wrote : " Credit should be given where credit is due and , while it is true that Keene Fitzpatrick and I were jointly responsible for this development which revolutionized valuting , the major credit should go to that polished Irish gentleman , who was one of the finest sportsmen I have ever known and who was so highly regarded at University of Michigan , Yale , and Princeton universities and by all of the track coaches and athletes of yesteryears . " University of Michigan . Return to Michigan in 1898 . During the two seasons that Fitzpatrick was at Yale , Michigan lost both games to its then rival University of Chicago . When Charles A . Baird was hired as Michigan ' s first athletic director in 1898 , his first act was to recruit Fitzpatrick to return to Michigan . Fitzpatrick agreed to re - join Baird , who had been the manager of the 1894 and 1895 teams trained by Fitzpatrick . On September 15 , 1898 , one week before moving to Ann Arbor , Fitzpatrick was married to Mary Quinlan in Natick , Massachusetts . In Fitzpatrick ' s first season back at Michigan , the football team went 10 - 0 and won the school ' s first Western Conference ( now known as the Big Ten Conference ) championship . The team outscored its opponents 205 to 26 , and closed the season with a 12 - 11 win over Chicago . Fitzpatrick was credited for the team ' s turn - around in 1898 . One writer recalled how " sadly out of condition " the Michigan team had been in 1897 when it lost to Chicago and earlier in 1898 when it narrowly beat Northwestern . " Then after Fitzpatrick worked with these men they approached the Thanksgiving day contest with Chicago strong and fit to beat any team in the west . Physical condition improved 100 per cent . " During the 1898 football season , Fitzpatrick received a bruise on the back and " thought nothing of it " until an " ugly abscess " developed on his back . An operation was performed by a Detroit physician , but after two weeks , his condition deteriorated , and he returned to Massachusetts where he underwent a second surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston . In late January 1899 , he remained seriously ill at the Massachusetts hospital , though he was able to return in time for the 1899 track season . Yost ' s point - a - minute teams . In 1901 , Michigan hired Fielding H . Yost as its football coach , and Fitzpatrick worked closely with Yost as trainer of the football team over the next nine years . In Yost ' s first four seasons at Michigan , the team was 44 - 0 - 1 , outscoring opponents 2 , 331 - 40 . The Michigan teams from 1901 to 1905 , known as the " Point - a - Minute " teams , played 56 consecutive games without a loss and outscored their opponents 2 , 821 to 42 . Michigan football drew widespread press attention , and though the lion ' s share of the credit went to Yost , much praise was also paid to Fitzpatrick for his role in training Michigan ' s players . In 1903 , Fitzpatrick was recognized as a trainer " without peers in the country " and was paid a salary of $ 3 , 000 per year . The " Los Angeles Times " reported that Michigan ' s athletic director ( Baird ) , football coach ( Yost ) and trainer ( Fitzpatrick ) were collectively paid $ 10 , 250 , an amount " over double that of United States Senators , " but noted that each was " conceded to be worth all he gets . " The " Times " said the following about Fitzpatrick : " Trainer Keene Fitzpatrick , the ' Professor of Athletics , ' is also recognized as without a superior in his line , which is the education of the young idea in the cinder path of track athletics , jumping , pole vaulting , and work with the weights . In all these branches Michigan ranked high last year , and to Fitzpatrick was given most of the credit . " Fitzpatrick ' s training was often credited as the reason why so few Michigan football players were injured during his years as trainer . Michigan ' s legendary football coach Fielding H . Yost held a high opinion of Fitzpatrick and praised his role in the success of Michigan ' s football teams : " Fitz and I worked together for nine years . We were like brothers during that association at Michigan . There is no one person who contributed so much to the University of Michigan as this great trainer . His wonderful personality , his expert assistance and that great optimism of his stood out as his leading qualifications . My association with him is one of the pleasantest recollections of my life . He put men in shape , trained them and developed them . They were ' usable ' all the time . He is a trainer who has his men in the finest mental condition possible . I don ' t think there was ever a trainer who kept men more fit , physically and mentally , than Keene Fitzpatrick . " During the 1903 season , Fitzpatrick also played a central role in the birth of the Little Brown Jug trophy that is still awarded to the winner of the Michigan - Minnesota football game . The student manager of the 1903 Michigan team , Tommy Roberts , recalled the origin of the jug as follows : " Trainer Keene Fitzpatrick was afraid Minnesota would try to dope Michigan ' s water supply , and bought the jug for about 30 cents in a Minneapolis store . " Track success at Michigan . Western Conference championships . Fitzpatrick was Michigan ' s track coach from 1900 to 1910 , and during those years , Fitzpatrick ' s teams compiled a 24 - 2 - 1 record in dual meets and won Western Conference track championships in 1900 , 1901 , 1902 , 1903 , 1904 , and 1906 . Fitzpatrick ' s athletes also excelled in Olympic competition . Over the course of four Olympic Games held during his tenure as track coach , Michigan track and field athletes won 15 medals , including 7 gold medals . 1900 Paris Olympics . In 1900 , funds were solicited from faculty , students , alumni and Ann Arbor businessmen to send Fitzpatrick and four Michigan track athletes to the Olympics in Paris . Michigan ' s John McLean won a silver medal in the high hurdles , and Michigan ' s champion pole - vaulter , Charles Dvorak , became involved in the Sabbath controversy . When finals of some events were scheduled for Sunday , several American university teams agreed they could not violate the Sabbath . Among the finals scheduled for Sunday was the pole vault , in which Dvorak was a favorite . Dvorak was reportedly told that the final had been rescheduled , but the event was held after Dvorak and another American left . Several special competitions were conducted later to accommodate the Americans , which allowed Dvorak to win a silver medal . On his return from Paris , Fitzpatrick praised the American athletes and criticized Paris officials for holding key event finals on a Sunday : " The Americans showed themselves superior in every kind of track athletics . They won practically everything . We felt keenly the breach of faith in holding the Paris games on Sunday , but we could do nothing more then make a formal protest . " 1904 Olympics in St . Louis . One of the highlights for Michigan athletics during the Fitzpatrick years came at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St . Louis , Missouri , which have sometimes been referred to as the " Michigan Olympics . " Five University of Michigan track and field athletes won 9 medals : six gold , two silver , and one bronze . The Michigan medal winners at the 1904 Olympics were : Archie Hahn became a major star , and Fitzpatrick was credited with inventing his unusual running style . Shortly before the 1904 Olympics , a Wisconsin sports writer described the Fitzpatrick - invented style this way : " Hahn has a new style of running . Nobody at Michigan understands the style , except that Keene Fitzpatrick invented it , and that Hahn steps differently than ever before . Even to see Hahn ' s new stride is not to analyze how he manages to lift his feet so high in front . The new stride suggests that he is trying to climb a hill . The little man has toughened every muscle in his body and trained it to be a spring . " With three medals , Ralph Rose also became a star . In December 1904 , the " New York Evening Sun " wrote that Rose was " the first perfect physique ever seen at the University of Michigan " as measured by Fitzpatrick ' s anthropometric charts . Before Rose , Michigan never had an athlete who did not fall short of either size or symmetry requirements to draw " an uncurving line on the cart at the 100 mark . " At 6 foot , 3 inches , 246 pounds , a 29 . 9 inch right thigh , and a 47 . 6 inch expanded chest , he was the school ' s first " perfect physique . " 1906 and 1909 Olympics . At the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens , Archie Hahn repeated as the 100 - meter champion , winning his fourth gold medal . And at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London , Michigan athlete Ralph Rose repeated as the gold medalist in the shot put , and John Garrels won a silver medal in the 110 - meter hurdles and a bronze in the shot put . Ralph Craig . Fitzpatrick also coached Ralph Craig at Michigan . Following Fitzpatrick ' s departure from Michigan , Craig went on to win gold medals in the 100 metres and 200 metres at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm . In 1932 , Fitzpatrick said that Craig was the best sprinter he ever turned out , though Johnny Garrels ws the best all - around athlete he ever handled . Fitzpatrick ' s pupils , Hahn and Craig , were the only Olympic double sprint winners prior to another Michigan athlete , Eddie Tolan , accomplishing the feat at the 1932 Summer Olympics . Gymnasium director and advocate for " physical culture " . In addition to serving as the trainer for the football team and coach of the track team , Fitzpatrick also served as a professor of physical training and the director of the school ' s Waterman Gymnasium . He was first hired at Michigan in 1894 , the same year the Waterman Gymnasium was opened . Gymnasium training was compulsory for Michigan students at the time , and it was Fitzpatrick who oversaw the training . The gymnasium training included " muscular strengthening and improvement , " exercises ( known as " correctives " ) , basketball , and Swedish gymnastics . During his years at Michigan , Fitzpatrick was an outspoken advocate of vigorous exercise and what was then known as " physical culture . " In 1910 , a profile of Fitzpatrick ' s work was published under the headline , " Makes Man Out of Weakling , Chart Shows Wonders of Scientific Physical Training . " The article displayed one of the anthropometric charts ( " pictured to right " ) used by Fitzpatrick in tracking the progress of Michigan ' s students , including measurements of lung capacity , weight , shoulders , neck , chest , hips , waist , thighs , forearms , and arms . The article touted Fitzpatrick ' s work as evidence that " scientific physical culture " can turn " a poor weed into a splendidly developed man . " Fitzpatrick was also an advocate of a healthy diet . In 1909 , he wrote : " Diet takes a foremost part in the training of athletes . Men in training should not eat anything fried , pastry , pork sausages , etc . . . . Tea and coffee , smoking and drinking intoxicating liquors must be absolutely barred from an athlete ' s diet . " In another article , Fitzpatrick told of his work with a student who had been " horribly crippled " from birth . The student asked to be excused from the compulsory gymnasium work , claiming it would be " utterly impossible " for him to participate . The student had never walked a step , his legs were twisted out of shape , and he could not control his head and neck . Fitzpatrick denied the request and promised the young man : " I will teach you to walk . " Fitzpatrick invented exercises to strengthen every part of the student ' s body , until eventually the student could walk on his own . Fitzpatrick recalled : " Day after day I taught him . I showed him how to step and helped him with my hands to take steps . The first two steps he took alone were followed by tears of joy . Of course , he ' ll never be able to walk as an able - bodied man , but he learned to discard his shuffle . . . . This is but an instance of gymnasium work ' s benefits . If people realized the value of physical culture , we would be a splendidly developed race of men and women . " Those who knew Fitzpatrick described his " magnetic personality , " his ability to rouse men " out of the gloom of despair and defeat , " and noted that " he knew men and how to get the best out of them . " Fitzpatrick ' s accomplishments draw fame and offers from Eastern universities . By 1905 , the success of Michigan ' s athletic programs had brought fame to Fitzpatrick and to the school . Fitzpatrick had " turned out more championship teams than any other man in the West , " and the school ' s " athletic reputation had spread so far " that requests were received from all over the country from school ' s seeking to hire Michigan graduates to teach athletics . Fitzpatrick noted that the demand was so great that a Michigan athlete could command $ 400 to $ 500 more a year in salary than students from other schools , and an All - Western player from Michigan ' s football team could command a salary of $ 1 , 500 for three months ' work . In what one newspaper called " Fitzpatrick ' s call to the book worms , " Fitzpatrick extended an offer even to students without the ability to make the big teams that he would " teach them all the tricks by which they can show other men to success on the cinder path and gridiron . " In 1905 , Yale sought to recruit Fitzpatrick to return once again to that school . At the time , one paper wrote : " It is no exaggeration to say that today Fitzpatrick stands head and shoulders over every trainer in the country , just as Yost outshines rival football coaches . And without Fitzpatrick , Yost could not produce the winning football teams he does . " A team from Yale visited Fitzpatrick in June 1905 but left Ann Arbor with the report that it was " impossible to get Keene away from Michigan . " It was said : " Keene is located there , with everything pleasant and just as he wants it , and they say they won ' t let him go and he says he can ' t come . So Yale must give up hoping for him . " Fitzpatrick declined to comment on the offers and said , " Ann Arbor is a good place to live in and I like the Michigan spirit . " Fitzpatrick ' s reputation as one of the greatest trainers and conditioners continued to grow as his four - mile - relay team won the event at the Penn relays for seven consecutive years . And in January 1910 a Minnesota newspaper wrote a lengthy profile on Fitzpatrick describing him as the " great little man " responsible for molding Michigan ' s teams : " A great asset to Michigan is Keene Fitzpatrick . He knows athletics from A to Z . As a trainer of track men he is beyond a peer ; for keeping football players in condition he is unbeatable and in the capacity of a football coach he ranks high . He works over an unconscious player , binds up a nasty hurt or squeezes a soaked sponge down the neck of a perspiring husky with the same calmness that he looks for dangerous stones in the training lot at Whitmore Lake . " Fitzpatrick ' s conditioning was credited with the success of the Michigan football team in his two games at the team ' s trainer . On November 13 , 1900 , Michigan beat Penn , 12 - 6 , after a long train ride to Philadelphia . On a hot day in Philadelphia , Penn ' s coach was forced to make nine substitutions , but Michigan made only one . Seven days later , after long train rides to Ann Arbor , and then to Minnesota , the Michigan football team beat Minnesota , 15 - 6 , in the bitter cold . One writer of the victories : " It was a test that is seldom paralleled in football , but Fitzpatrick had the men in shape to stand it - - and then a whole lot . " Fitzpatrick accepts an $ 8 , 000 a year offer from Princeton . In 1910 , Fitzpatrick was offered the position of athletic trainer and track coach by Princeton University . Fitzpatrick stated that he was content in Michigan , but Princeton representative persisted and asked him to name the salary that would cause him to leave Michigan . Fitzpatrick did not want to leave Michigan so he gave the figure " in the neighborhood of $ 8 , 000 per year " - - an amount he assumed would be prohibitive . Princeton agreed to the amount , and Fitzpatrick , " having made the terms himself felt in honor bound to leave Michigan and come East . " Fitzpatrick ' s impact on the student body was such that , when he left for Princeton in 1910 , the following tribute was paid to him : " He made men better , not alone physically , but morally . His work has been uplifting along all lines of university activities . In character and example he is as great and untiring as in his teaching and precept . . . . Next to President Angell , no man of the University of Michigan , in the last ten years , has exerted a more wholesome influence upon the students than Keene Fitzpatrick . His work brought him in close touch with the students and his influence over them for good has been wonderful . He is a man of ideals and clean life . " In the decade after Fitzpatrick left , Michigan ' s football teams did not play to the same level they had in the nine years that Yost and Fitzpatrick had worked together . In 1915 , one paper noted that Fitzpatrick ' s departure " left a gap in the circle which has never been properly filled . " In nine years under Yost - Fitzpatrick , the Michigan football team had a record of 75 - 6 - 2 ( . 903 winning percentage ) , and outscored opponents , 3 , 248 - 193 . In the ten years after Fitzpatrick left , Yost ' s teams went 52 - 18 - 6 , a . 684 winning percentage . Princeton University . Fitzpatrick was hired by Princeton in 1910 and remained the track coach and athletic trainer there for 22 years . Four of his Princeton track teams placed second in the intercollegiates — 1920 , 1922 , 1923 , and 1925 . Fifteen of his track athletes from Princeton won individual intercollegiate championships , including two double champions , Charles R . Erdman and Randolph E . Brown , and two repeat champions , J . Coard Taylor and Ralph G . Hills . After his first year at Princeton , the " Daily Princetonian " published an editorial in November 1911 proclaiming Fitzpatrick as " the best trainer Princeton has ever had , " and concluded , " if we were asked to name the man who had done most for Princeton athletics in general during the past year , we should name Keene Fitzpatrick , the trainer of a championship football team , the trainer of a championship baseball team and the coach of the first Princeton track team that has beaten Yale in fifteen years . " In 1918 , collegiate track coaches formed the Association of College Track Coaches of American and elected Fitzpatrick as their first president . By 1919 , Fitzpatrick had been a track coach for 30 years and was known as the " Dean of College Coaches . " A columnist that year observed : " Princeton has learned to love Fitzpatrick just as much as it does the members of the famous Poe family , Sam White and others who have brought glory to the Jungletown institution . He has built up the athletic department , just as he had done at Michigan . . . " In 1921 , another writer noted : " His success in coaching in all branches of sport makes him one of the greatest athletic instructors of all time . " In 1922 , syndicated sports columnist Billy Evans wrote a profile about Fitzpatrick that was published in newspapers across the United States . Evans compared Fitzpatrick to Connie Mack : " In collegiate track athletics Keene Fitzpatrick occupies much the same place that Connie Mack holds in major league baseball . Fitzpatrick stands out as one of the greatest developers of college athletics in the history of the track sport . . . . Much of Fitzpatrick ' s success is due to his knowledge of the anatomy . He is a great conditioner . " In 1927 , Fitzpatrick spoke publicly in favor of allowing college football teams to conduct early practice before the school year began . He argued that the lack of sufficient time for training and conditioning was the greatest cause of football injuries . He argued that , although football is the most strenuous of all sports , it gets the least amount of actual preparation . In 1928 , U . S . Senator Royal S . Copeland joined in Fitzpatrick ' s call for " systematic training . " Copeland credited Fitzpatrick with doing " more to develop straight thinking than any college president of modern times . " Retirement and tributes . In 1932 , Fitzpatrick retired after 42 years in the business as an athletic trainer and coach . Fitzpatrick , who was 67 years old at the time , noted that he sought to retire to a " less strenuous mode of life . " At the time of Fitzpatrick ' s resignation , the chairman of Princeton ' s board and supervisor of sports said , " For 22 years Mr . Fitzpatrick has been to Princeton men the symbol of all that is fine in amateur sport . " Columnist Walter S . Trumbull wrote that Fitzpatrick " is known , admired and respected wherever a football shoe has trod or a running spike has pressed . " At the dedication of the Michigan Union in 1935 , former University of Michigan athletic director Charles A . Baird said , " I often think that if I were asked to produce a live , flesh - and - blood specimen of the perfect gentleman , I would unhesitatingly select Keene Fitzpatrick . He was indeed a super - coach . " Famed sports writer Grantland Rice regularly sought out Fitzpatrick on questions involving track and field , referring to Fitzpatrick in his columns as " the oracle " and " one of Natick ' s immortals . " Even after Fitzpatrick died , Rice continued to write about his old friend , calling Fitzpatrick a man who " could coach and train football , track , rowing and the art of living . " Rice recalled that one of the most common topics of discussion with Fitzpatrick was " this matter of weight and age . " Fitzpatrick believed that a man of 50 or 60 should keep his weight close to what it was at 25 or 30 . Fitzpatrick claimed he had never missed a day ' s work and was never out of condition . In 44 years , Fitzpatrick was never more than two pounds away from 164 pounds . Even at age 60 , Fitzpatrick claimed he could outrun many of his students who came back to school " overweight and soft from a summer that certainly wasn ' t devoted to keeping in condition . " As a tribute to his years of service , Princeton named an athletic field and fieldhouse after him . Later years and death . Fitzpatrick continued to live in Princeton , New Jersey after his retirement . He died at his home in Princeton in 1944 after a long illness .