Fred Brice

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

Fred Brice

Brice pictured in The Prism 1939, Maine yearbook
Biographical details
Born	(1887-12-06)December 6, 1887 Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 10, 1967(1967-01-10) (aged 79) Pittsfield, New Hampshire, U.S.
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)

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	Bowl/playoffs
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:		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:		79–58–9	27–17–4 (New England) 36–19–5 (MIAA)
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	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         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