| Robert E. Brannan | |
| Birth Date: | 12 November 1891 |
| Birth Place: | Timken, Kansas, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Ottawa University (1915) |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | 1912–1913 |
| Player Team2: | Ottawa |
| Player Sport3: | Basketball |
| Player Years4: | 1912–1915 |
| Player Team4: | Ottawa |
| Player Sport5: | Baseball |
| Player Years6: | 1910–1915 |
| Player Team6: | Ottawa |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1915–1916 |
| Coach Team2: | Sioux Falls |
| Coach Years3: | 1918 |
| Coach Team3: | Millikin |
| Coach Years4: | 1919 |
| Coach Team4: | Decatur Staleys |
| Coach Years5: | 1920–1922 |
| Coach Team5: | Ottawa |
| Coach Sport6: | Basketball |
| Coach Years7: | 1918–1919 |
| Coach Team7: | Millikin |
| Coach Years8: | 1920–1922 |
| Coach Team8: | Ottawa |
| Coach Sport9: | Baseball |
| Coach Years10: | 1919 |
| Coach Team10: | Millikin |
| Overall Record: | 37–12 (college basketball) 3–2 (college baseball) |
Robert E. Brannan (November 12, 1891 – August 6, 1958) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the first coach in Chicago Bears franchise history, running the team when they were known as the Decatur Staleys in 1919.
Brannan was hired as athletic coach at Sioux Falls College—now known as the University of Sioux Falls in 1915.[1]
In 1920, Brannan became the ninth head football coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas, a position he held for three seasons until 1922. His coaching record at Ottawa was 4–19–1.[2] According to football legend Walter Camp, the only bright spot for the team in the 1922 season was a guard named Swineheart who "played consistently" for the season.[3] Brannan graduated from the Ottawa academy in 1911. He later graduated from Ottawa University in 1915, having earned fourteen letters in all university sports. Prior to coaching at Ottawa, he had coached at Sioux Falls, James Millikin University, and high schools near Decatur, Illinois.[4]
After coaching, Brannan worked for what later became Union Carbide, Co. until he retired in 1956. He died at a hospital at New York City in 1958.[5]
| Team | Year | Regular season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | |||
| 1919 | 6 | 1 | 0 | Named Central Illinois Champions | |||
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||||