Quick Facts
Biography
Douglas A. Fessenden (1901 – June 11, 1970) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator.
Fessenden began his coaching career in 1925 at Main Avenue High School—now known as Fox Tech High School—in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Brownsville High School in Brownsville, Texas in 1928. Fessenden was head football coach at Fenger High School in Chicago from 1930 to 1934, before coming head coach at the University of Montana in April 1935. Fessenden served two separate stints as Montana's head coach, from 1935 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1948.
The 1937 season included a then school record of six consecutive victories. Fessenden resigned as Montana's football coach after the 1948 season and received his doctors degree in physical education from Columbia University in 1949. Fessenden concluded his coaching career with Montana's best win and loss record.
Fessenden died in San Francisco, California on June 11, 1970.
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Grizzlies (Pacific Coast Conference) (1935–1941) | |||||||||
| 1935 | Montana | 1–5–2 | 0–5–1 | 10th | |||||
| 1936 | Montana | 6–3 | 1–3 | 8th | |||||
| 1937 | Montana | 7–1 | 0–1 | 10th | |||||
| 1938 | Montana | 5–3–1 | 0–1 | 10th | |||||
| 1939 | Montana | 3–6 | 1–2 | 7th | |||||
| 1940 | Montana | 4–4–1 | 1–2 | 8th | |||||
| 1941 | Montana | 6–3 | 1–3 | 9th | |||||
| Montana Grizzlies (Pacific Coast Conference) (1946–1948) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Montana | 4–4 | 1–3 | 7th | |||||
| 1947 | Montana | 7–4 | 2–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1948 | Montana | 3–7 | 0–3 | 10th | |||||
| Montana: | 46–40–4 | 7–24–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 46–40–4 | ||||||||