Hall of Fame
Bill Roper was not an innovative genius or master of detail. He
took his best plays from other coaches, often made
spontaneous decisions on the sideline and, invariably, proved
the master of come-from-behind victory and remarkable upset.
He was a member of Princeton's 1899 National Championship
team and began his coaching career at Virginia Military (1903-
1904) before returning to his alma mater (1906-1908), leaving
Princeton for Missouri (1909), then going back to Princeton
(1910-1911), leaving once again for Swarthmore (1915-
1916), and finally returning to Princeton for his third tenure
(1919-1930). His 1922 squad, which became known as "The
Team of Destiny", beat Chicago, 21-18, after trailing 18-7 in
the fourth quarter. Like so many of Roper's other clubs, the
1922 team was, in truth, a so-so gathering of talent - but he
flamed them into success. He believed football was 90% fight
and 10% execution, strategy and technique. Roper's record for
17 years at Princeton was 96-28-17. His Tiger squads were
unbeaten in 1906, 1911, 1920, 1922; they lost one game in
1910, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928.
