Harry S. "Harvey" Hester was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, coach, and sports executive. He served as the head football coach at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

in 1915. Hester was a standout player at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, once scoring seven touchdowns in one game against

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

in 1913. Hester joined with Lt. Commander

Jack Meagher John Francis Meagher (July 5, 1894 – December 7, 1968) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. Meagher played football for the University of Notre Dame in 1916, rising ...

in 1945 to obtain a franchise for Miami in the forthcoming

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC)."Miami's Pro Team Bosses,"
''Miami Herald,'' Jan. 20, 1945, p. 10. Meagher, the coach of the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team in 1944, brought with him the "Seahawks" moniker for the new football club. The

Miami Seahawks The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before the team was relocated to Baltimore. They are notable ...

played only one year, the 1946 season, before folding due to financial difficulties. The club's assets were sold to a new ownership group based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, and the club was moved there for the 1947 season to become the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, Harvey Year of birth missing Year of death missing American football quarterbacks American football halfbacks Florida Gators football players Wofford Terriers football coaches American football executives