Robert “Bob” Reid, the legendary former Anderson High School football coach and longtime educator, passed away at the age of 87 on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
For thirty straight seasons, from 1970 to 1999, Coach Reid stood on the sideline as the varsity head football coach of the Anderson Cubs.
When he finally hung up the whistle, he left behind a record that still stands unmatched in Northern Section history: 219 wins, 14 league championships, four Northern Section titles, and seven runner-up finishes.
His teams went undefeated in the regular season seven different times. He also coached wrestling for six years and brought home two section titles.
The awards poured in because the success was impossible to ignore.
He was named the California Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1999, the Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year for medium schools in 1995, and the All-Superior California Coach of the Year for large schools in 1986 and 1989.
The Northern Section honored him as Coach of the Year four different times.
In 2018, the Shasta County Sports Hall of Fame welcomed him, and the football field at Anderson High School was renamed Bob Reid Stadium, a permanent thank-you from the community he loved.
Following Reid’s death, Many Former Players, Students, and Friends Shared Memories on Social Media
Current Anderson head coach PJ O’Connell called him the man who laid the foundation.
O’Connell said-:
“He established the way to do things, how to coach, and how to reach kids,”
Via Facebook
Earlier this year, when O’Connell accepted the head coaching job, Reid invited him to lunch to talk football, family, and life.
The older coach even shared some of his old plays. But the moment O’Connell remembers most happened by chance in a Costco parking lot.
They talked for 45 minutes, and Reid poured out wisdom that still guides the program today.
Joetta Ferguson wrote that there might not be a more iconic figure in Redding-area sports history. She said-: “
“He set the foundation for what a successful coach looks like and showed the community what a successful program looks like,”
Via Facebook
Margie Brown remembered him as a legendary teacher who believed in her when few others did.
He made her one of the first “stat girls” for his wrestling team, and that early confidence changed her life. She posted
“His encouragement left a lasting impact I’ll never forget. RIP Mr. Reid,”
Via Facebook
Christina Williams shared how Reid taught her mother in the 1980s and coached her uncle on the football field.
Years later, when she took his driver’s safety class, he immediately asked if she was related to them.
Even a few months ago, when her mother ran into him at the store, he still remembered the family. She noted he seemed sad after losing his wife a while back.
Matt Anderson recalled the season Reid came out of retirement in 2006 to help coach the team. “He made an incredible impact on our success and on every single player,” Anderson wrote.
He would later see Coach Reid working out at the gym or eating breakfast at the Auction Yard.
“He had a way of speaking plainly while saying something that carried great meaning. I would argue he was one of the most influential people to ever live in the north state.”
Long after he left the sideline, Bob Reid kept showing up for kids and for the community that loved him.
His stadium will host games for years to come, but the lessons he taught, about hard work, respect, and caring for people, will last even longer.
Rest in peace, Coach Reid. The north state will never forget you.
