View source for Sigmund Harris

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1883–1964)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Sig Harris
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| sport = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1883|7|2}}
| birth_place = [[Dubuque, Iowa]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1964|11|8|1883|7|2}}
| death_place = 
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1902–1904
| player_team1 = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]
| player_positions = [[Quarterback]]
| coach_years1 = 1905–1920
| coach_team1 = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]] (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1936–1941
| coach_team2 = Minnesota (assistant)
| overall_record = 
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 3 National
| awards = 
* 2× Third-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1903 College Football All-America Team|1903]], [[1904 College Football All-America Team|1904]]) 
| coaching_records = 
}}
'''Sigmund "Sig" Harris''' (July 2, 1883 – November 8, 1964) was an American college football player. He was [[University of Minnesota]]'s [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] quarterback from 1902 to 1904, for powerful teams under Dr. [[Henry L. Williams]].   He was also a plucky, {{convert|5|ft|5+1/2|in|2|abbr=on}} {{convert|145|lb|kg|adj=on}} blocking back, punter, punt returner, and defensive safety, and played a critical role in the [[Little Brown Jug (college football trophy)|Little Brown Jug]] game between Minnesota and Michigan in 1903.

==Early life==
Born in [[Dubuque, Iowa]], Harris and his family moved to [[Minneapolis]] when he was young, where: <blockquote>I went to [[Cheder]].  There was no other organization for Jewish education in those days.  I lived some distance from the Jewish population in town.  I always felt that I considerably missed Jewish life in not being in closer touch with our people.<ref name="Jews In Sports">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=9 |title=Harris, Sig |publisher=Jewsinsports.org |date=November 8, 1964 |accessdate=March 30, 2010}}</ref></blockquote>

He played quarterback for the Minneapolis Central High School football team<ref name="Jews In Sports"/> alongside [[Bobby Marshall]], who played end. Together they led the Minneapolis Central Pioneers football team to state football championship titles in 1899 and 1900. The 1900 season included a disputed 6-0 victory over the [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football | University of Minnesota Gophers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Christiansen |first=R. C. |author-link= |date=2023 |title=Mill City Scrum: The History of Minnesota's First Team in the National Football League |url= |location= |publisher=Independently published |page= |isbn=979-8398571127}}</ref>

==College==
Harris began his college career in 1901, when he was enrolled at the College of Engineering and Mechanical Arts at the University of Minnesota. He became the starting quarterback the following year. In the 1903 season, Harris was named first team [[Fielding H. Yost]] [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]], third team [[Walter Camp]] All-American, and first team Camp All-Western. He was present at the game against the [[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan Wolverines]] where the [[Little Brown Jug (college football trophy)|Little Brown Jug]] rivalry began. Harris was named third team Camp All-American in the 1904 season.<ref name="Jews In Sports"/>

==Coaching==
Harris was an assistant coach from graduation until 1920.<ref name="Jews In Sports"/>  He served as a substitute head coach for a game in 1922 when Williams suddenly took ill. He would return to coaching for a brief time, but he was devoted full-time to the machinery business that he founded in 1903 and continued to head until his death in 1964.

==Hall of Fame==

Harris is a member of the [[International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame]].

==See also==
*[[List of Jews in sports#Football (American)|List of select Jewish football players]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback navbox}}
{{1936 Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}
{{1940 Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}
{{1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Sigmund}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1964 deaths]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Jewish American players of American football]]
[[Category:Jews from Iowa]]