Mosher Set Bar For Excellence
Pioneer of desegregation
By Bill Buchalter, Orlando Sentinel 2/16/98
Ex-Winter Park coach and AD Bob Mosher, who died
Saturday, was in five' Halls of
fame.
He was called Florida's "Godfather" of track and. field, but Bob Mosher, who
died last weekend at age 77, was more than just an icon in the sport he loved.
During his 33 years teaching and coaching at Winter Park High School, Mosher
left a legacy that included raising the professionalism of coaches in Florida, and raising
the bar of excellence for athletics
at Winter Park.
At Winter Park, Mosher served as athletic director for 18 years, coached football for 16 years, plus basketball, swimming and baseball. But it was in track and field where he achieved his greatest recognition. "He was the godfather because of all the things he did," said Oak Ridge Coach John Hemmer. "Not many people realize he was the first high school coach ever to participate in an international competition."
He said Mosher was assistant coach for the 1977 U.S. junior team competing against the Soviet Union in a meet at Richmond,Va.
Carey McDonald of Ocala and Mosher were members of the firstclass to be inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in '77. Mosher also is the only person to be named national coach of the year (boys track, '82) and national athletic director of the year ('85) by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. He also received the prestigious Dwight Keith Award for contributions and dedication to the advancement of interscholastic athletics and the coaching profession in 1989. "He was a pioneer in the growth of the Florida interscholastic program because of his accent on building speed," McDonald Said. "He put that speed into the total sports program. Even the football people have come to appreciate what Bob Mosher brought to the table."
He also helped pioneer the desegregation of the sport, taking his team to the first multiracial competition held in the state in Miami in the early 1960s and practicing and competing against teams from Bartow Union Academy. "What a lot of people didn’t know and we didn’t realize at the time," said Steve Ellis, a sports writer for the Tallahassee Democrat and a former runner for Mosher at Winter Park, "was when schools with black athletes came to run at Winter Park, and some stayed overnight, coach would have them stay with runners on the team. I don't know whether he ever took heat for it or not, but I know we did that."
At Winter Park, Mosher was named Florida track coach of the Year 11 times and was the only coach to win state titles in cross country, track and team decathlon. He was inducted into five halls of fame - Florida track, Metro Conference, Central Florida, National Coaches and Winter Park.
He brought the Florida state track championships to Showalter Field where the sport flourished for 22 years. The track at Showalter is named in his honor. He also helped McDonald initiate the national All-American awards program and the annual track clinics that have become the teaching benchmark of today.
It was the Winter Park Hall that Mosher created and nourished that became his favorite project. His son, Mike - one of the school's greatest athletes and a Hall member - said his father's work on the Hall "motivated him to keep going" after the death of his wife, Vivian, in an automobile accident three years ago. "He loved Working on the Hall because he cared about people," Mike Mosher said. "He cared about coaches. He cared about athletes. He was a good, father and he really cared about his grand kids." Another Mosher legacy is 11 grandchildren and 19 great grand-children.
In lieu of flowers, Mosher requested donations go toward the Bob Mosher/Winter Park Sports Hall of Fame Fund, which will be established at Nations Bank, 7605 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, Fl.