Robert George Woll, professor of physical education emeritus and a legend in Monmouth College sports history, died Saturday, Aug. 29, of an apparent heart attack, at his home in Monmouth. He was 88. Cremation rites were accorded and interment was Thursday in the Warren County Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial service was held Sept. 11 in the Monmouth College Auditorium. That afternoon, prior to the home football opener, the college's football field was rededicated as "Bobby Woll Memorial Field," and a flag bearing his playing number, 29, was raised over the field. Memorials may be made to the Robert G. and Gladys L. Woll Memorial Fund at Monmouth College. Woll, who retired in 1976 after 50 years as a student, athlete, teacher and coach at Monmouth College, was known, loved and respected by generations of alumni, as well as current students. During his 40 years on the physical education faculty, he coached every intercollegiate sport except wrestling and was part of nearly 1,000 Fighting Scot victories. The Monmouth College athletic field, which he developed and tended for decades, was named in his honor in 1980. Woll served more than 25 years as athletic director or chair of the physical education department or both. He held nearly every coaching position on the staff, often assigning himself as an assistant coach or to "minor" sports. As a student-athlete, Woll stood only 5'4" tall, weighed only 129 pounds and wore size 5-1/2 shoes, yet he led the Fighting Scots to some memorable victories, including a Knox game in which he scored two touchdowns and set a national mark for the season with a 93-yard run. He was named to the UPI All-State team in 1932 and 1933, led the state in scoring his junior year and recorded the longest punt in the nation (70 yards) in 1932. Following his senior year, his playing number, 29, was retired at the request of his teammates--the only Monmouth football number ever to be retired. Woll began working at Monmouth College while still a student, reportedly logging 40 hours per week in the alumni office. His first coaching assignment was in the backfield of the football team and as a freshman basketball coach. His first head coaching assignment in basketball was in 1936-37. The following year, he led the Fighting Scots to a Midwest Conference championship. Having coached Monmouth championship teams in every sport except cross country and wrestling, Woll's greatest success came as basketball coach. As head coach, he compiled a record of 200-116 over 18 years, and had only one losing season. One of his proudest accomplishments was his cumulative record against Knox of 25-7. Woll consistently took on responsibilities far beyond anything expected of a teacher or coach. During the summer of 1957 he put in 12-hour days supervising 30 volunteers who constructed the concrete bleacher supports of the football stands at a fraction of the cost of commercial construction. In a 1979 history of Monmouth College, Professor William Urban wrote: "Recently, [President] Freed saw the work that Bobby Woll had accomplished in repainting the bleachers, and he suggested that he do some more work in another part, saying, 'Why don't you get your crew and...' whereupon Coach Woll broke in, surprised, 'What crew?' He had been doing the work all by himself." At a recognition dinner in 1975, Professor David Allison recounted Woll's career and asked, "Who among us would demonstrate the willingness that once called for manicuring a baseball diamond, football field and track during the summer, because that was the only way it would get done? Who among us would spend night after night in the closing year of a career directing an extensive intramural program?" "To many," Allison concluded, "Bobby Woll is Monmouth College and what she stands for." A native of Murphysboro, Ill., Woll earned his bachelor's degree from Monmouth in 1934 and a master's degree in physical education from the University of Illinois. He and his late wife, Gladys, are survived by two daughters, Barbara Woll Chamberlin '61 of Rochester, N.Y., and Sue Woll of Northbrook, Ill.; and four grandchildren.