Tight End - Defensive Tackle: 1934-1936
Robert Mitchell was a tight end and defensive tackle on Mineral Point's conference championship team of 1934. His modesty and team ethic made him a leader on the field, and often the team joker in the locker room. When first nominated for the Hall of Fame, Bob asked the committee to withdraw his nomination when he found out that his teammate Tony Nardi was also on the ballot. "Tony did all the running and scoring," Bob said, "he deserves this more than I do. I was just one of the seven guys up front making the holes big enough for Tony to be as good as he was." When nominated the second time, knowing that his former coach Otto Madland was also on the ballot, Bob stated, “Otto taught swimming, baseball in the summers, and basically taught and coached all year long. He deserves this more than me."
Bob was big for the time, at over six feet tall, making him an excellent lead blocker and a force on defense. Mineral Point won six games by shutout in 1934 alone, and in 1935, the defense gave up only one score in five games as well as shutting out Dodgeville in the season opener.
Bob was also the big man on several very dominating basketball teams. In his four years of high school, Bob earned three letters in football, three letters in basketball, and two letters in track.
After graduation from Mineral Point, Bob went on to play ball in college, playing one year at Winona State before transferring to St. Norbert's in De Pere, Wisconsin. In college, Bob moved to Center where he was the mainstay on the offensive line and also do the long snapping. After graduation, Bob was contacted by the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, and the Chicago Bears about trying out for the professional teams. About this opportunity, Bob said in his typical modesty, "The war was starting and all the good players were being drafted, so they would have taken anyone." Rather than trying out for a professional team, Bob too, decided to serve his country and entered the armed forces, serving in Europe for three years with the Army Air Corps.
After his service during World War II, Bob returned to Mineral Point, operating a hardware store on main street and raising a family of seven boys and four girls.
Three Year Letter Winner: 1934, 1935, 1936 Captain: 1936
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