Community Corner
'Extraordinary Mentor': Community Remembers Former WPI Coach Bob Weiss
The Worcester community is remembering a beloved coach who led WPI football through one of its strongest eras.
WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester community is remembering a beloved coach who led WPI football through one of its strongest eras.
Bob Weiss, the former football coach at Worcester Polytechnic Institute who led the Engineers to their most recent undefeated season, died June 20 at his home in Mystic, Connecticut, according to his obituary. He was 92.
Weiss coached WPI football for 10 seasons after taking over the program in 1978, when the Engineers were searching for their first winning season in nearly a decade. He led WPI to a 5-3 record in 1980, the program's first winning season since 1968.
Five more winning seasons followed, including the 1983 team that finished 8-0 and earned a spot in the nation's top 10 rankings.
"Coach Weiss was a great leader," said Ed Moffitt, a 1983 co-captain and member of the WPI class of 1984. "He cared deeply about the school, the team and every player who played for him. The practices were hard every day, but he had us ready to play on Saturdays, no matter who the opponent was."
Weiss was born and raised in Putnam, CT, and graduated from Tufts University in 1958, where he played football and baseball. His head coaching career began at Tantasqua Regional High School in Sturbridge before he moved to New London High School in Connecticut.
He later spent four seasons as defensive line coach at the University of Connecticut before coaching at Fitch High School, where his team was ranked No. 1 in New England and among the nation's top 10 during his fourth season. Weiss also served as freshman coach at Dartmouth before arriving at WPI.
"Coach Weiss believed in us long before we believed in ourselves," said Mike Dagle, a member of the WPI class of 1984. "He taught us that success came through hard work, preparation, sacrifice and discipline."
After retiring from coaching, Weiss built and operated two insurance agencies.
"But for all his championships, what Bob was most proud of were the young men he taught and coached," his obituary reads. "He was, by every account, an extraordinary mentor to young men - and his investment in them never ended at graduation or the final whistle."
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. July 13 at St. Agnes Church, 22 Haigh Ave., Niantic, CT. A celebration of life will immediately follow at Little Neck Restaurant at Great Neck Country Club, 28 Lamphere Road, Waterford, CT.
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