Villanova Univeristy Athletics

A star center and team captain for Villanova’s 150 pound football squad, Bob Fitzmyer led the Wildcats to the Eastern Intercollegiate championship his senior year. He was a decorated World War II Army veteran by the time he arrived on campus and played for the 150 pound football team from 1946-49. Fitzmyer graduated from Villanova in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1996.
 
The final season on campus for Fitzmyer was an inspiring one for the 150 pound team, which attracted former varsity players as coaches and began the year with a determination to reverse its fortunes. Fitzmyer was a three-year team captain and four-time all-league player at center. He helped the 1949 team post a 4-1 record with wins over Rutgers (19-13), Cornell (26-20), Princeton (13-6) and Penn (25-14) while only losing once to Navy (28-13). The 96 points scored by Villanova in the five games were more than their combined scoring output from the 1946 through 1948 campaigns. The squad won the Francis B. Snavely, Jr. Cup presented to the top 150 pound team in the East region for the first time ever.
 
Fitzmyer was a Philadelphia native and attended St. Hugh’s elementary school before graduating from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School where he was a strong student and member of the football team. He graduated high school in 1942 and was drafted into the Army where he served in the 283 Army Battalion. Fitzmyer was a forward observer in the French and Germany theaters of World War II and became an Army corporal. He was awarded two bronze stars for his service and played football in Berlin after the war representing the Second Armored Division.
 
At Villanova, Fitzmyer was a four-year member of Phi Kappa Pi and a two-year member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He played intramurals and 150 pound football all four years. After college he worked in industrial pumps and started the Robert J. Fitzmyer, Co., Inc. Fitzmyer passed away in Bryn Mawr, Pa. in 2022 at the age of 97.