David H. Fisher – Health and Physical Education, 1950

David H. Fisher

Health and Physical Education – USL – Class of 1950

I enlisted in the Army Aviation Cadet Program in November, 1943 and began active duty in December 1943. I became a radio operator on a , flying 25 missions over Japan from Guam by the end of the war and was discharged from Air Corps in late November, 1945.

At the time I was discharged from the service, USL (then SLI) was on the trimester schedule and the last trimester had already started; so I enrolled at SLI during the spring of 1946. It was an interesting era. Many students were in their late 30’s or early 40’s–having had their college careers interrupted by service in the armed forces and needing only a few semesters to graduate. Some were like I, veterans who had entered the service right out of high school, and some were young seventeen-year-old freshman right out of high school.

While in college, I played football and ran track all four years. I suppose the high points of my athletic career were to have been the first athlete inducted into the SLI Athletic Hall of Fame after World War II, having run the 400-meter hurdles in preliminary qualifications for the 1948 Olympics, and having been drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the spring of 1950.

                Upon graduation, I became assistant coach at Jennings High School for four years, then head coach for four years. In June 1958, I accepted a position in the Men’s Physical Education Department at USL as an assistant professor and Director of the Intramural Department. Mr. Elvin Brand was acting head of the department at that time, and the Dean of the College of Education was Mr. Maxim Doucet. Dr. Fred Brown became Head of the Physical Education Department in September 1958. In my view, we had an excellent staff that was very compatible and cooperative; and because of this, an excellent program evolved, even though the facilities were somewhat limited. Members of the men’s staff in the spring of 1972 were:  Fred Brown, Elvin Brand, Ed Dugas, VJ Edney, David Fisher, Jeff Hennessey, Jim Kennison, Bob May, Fred Nelson, Dutch Reinhardt, Al Simon, Bill Stevenson, Mitchell Thibodeaux, and Clyde Wolf.

                The intramural program was varied, and participation was very good. As I recall, we had four different leagues and about 16 – 18 activities in team and individual sports. Champions were declared in each league, and competition was conducted to determine the campus champion in each activity.

                Various members of the department were involved in many community service related activities. During summers, I directed what was possibly the earliest tennis clinic in the area for children ages 6-16, which accommodated up to 300 children each summer. I also directed the Southwestern Relays, a very large track meet  and relay carnival that attracted many large universities from all over the country and many world class athletes. The university sponsored a rally association that was quite extensive in its offerings that probably not many people remember even now. It was called the I.A. & O.A., which stood for Interscholastic Athletic and Oratorical Association. Competitions were held between high schools in a very wide range of activities, and members of our staff were involved in organizing and directing the various athletic activities.

                I received my Ph.D from LSU in January 1970, doing my research in perceptual motor activities for young children. Dr. Louis Bowers had organized and directed a motor clinic for area children some years earlier. When he accepted a position at another university, I succeeded him as director of the motor clinic for four years until I retired in August 1974.

                The most significant memories I have of my tenure in the physical education department was the contentment I felt, which was nurtured by the closeness, friendliness, compatibility, and cooperation between all staff members. While each person had his own area of interest and expertise, an air of togetherness always existed which, I think, projected the entire department to higher levels of achievement.

                I would be so bold as to say that the situation that existed in our department in that era, could well be a pattern that all departments should strive to achieve.