View source for John Mauer

{{short description|American college basketball coach, baseball coach, football coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = John Mauer
| image = John_Mauer,_c._1926.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = The Illio, 1927
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|9|4|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Aurora, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1978|12|20|1901|9|4|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_sport1 = Basketball
| player_years2 = 1922–1926
| player_team2 = [[Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball|Illinois]]
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1926
| coach_team2 = [[Batavia High School (Illinois)|Batavia HS (IL)]]
| coach_years3 = 1938–1946
| coach_team3 = [[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee]] (DB)
| coach_years4 = 1951–1960
| coach_team4 = [[Florida Gators football|Florida]] (DB)
| coach_years5 = 1960–1963
| coach_team5 = [[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee]] (DB)
| coach_sport6 = Basketball
| coach_years7 = 1926–1927
| coach_team7 = [[Batavia High School (Illinois)|Batavia HS (IL)]]
| coach_years8 = 1927–1930
| coach_team8 = [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|Kentucky]]
| coach_years9 = 1930–1938
| coach_team9 = [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami (OH)]]
| coach_years10 = 1938–1947
| coach_team10 = [[Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball|Tennessee]]
| coach_years11 = 1947–1951
| coach_team11 = [[Army Black Knights men's basketball|Army]]
| coach_years12 = 1951–1960
| coach_team12 = [[Florida Gators men's basketball|Florida]]
| coach_sport13 = Baseball
| coach_years14 = 1938–1942
| coach_team14 = [[Tennessee Volunteers baseball|Tennessee]]
| overall_record = 344–272 (college basketball)<br>24–23 (college baseball)
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = Basketball<br>0–1 ([[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]])
| championships = 
Basketball
* 2 [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] regular season (1941, 1943)
* 2 [[SEC men's basketball tournament|SEC tournament]] (1941, 1943)
Football
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National]] ([[1923 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|1923]])
| awards = 
| coaching_records = 
}}

'''John W. Mauer''' (September 4, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was an American [[college basketball]], [[college baseball|baseball]] and [[college football|football]] [[coach (sport)|coach]] and multi-sport college athlete. During the course of his 36-year collegiate coaching career, Mauer was the head basketball coach at the [[University of Kentucky]], [[Miami University]] (Ohio), the [[University of Tennessee]], the [[United States Military Academy|U.S. Military Academy]], and the [[University of Florida]]. John was the head coach of the [[Tennessee Volunteers baseball|Tennessee]] baseball team. John also served as  the defensive backs coach for [[Tennessee Volunteers football|Tennessee]] under head coach [[Robert Neyland|General Robert Neyland]]. After coaching his college coaching career, John worked under [[Vince Lombardi]] scouting players for the [[Green Bay Packers]]. Mauer also scouted for the [[San Francisco 49ers]], [[Atlanta Falcons]], and [[New York Giants]].

== Early life and education ==

Mauer was born in 1901 at [[Aurora, Illinois]]. Both of his parents died by the time he was 13 years old, and he was raised by his older sister. With the financial assistance of a local businessman, he attended [[Batavia High School (Batavia, Illinois)|Batavia High School]] in [[Batavia, Illinois]] and was able to enroll in college.

Mauer attended the [[University of Illinois]] in [[Urbana, Illinois]] from 1922 to 1926, where he played for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball]] team. As a player, he was remembered for being one of the pioneers of one-handed shooting.  While attending Illinois, his roommate was Illini football great [[Red Grange|Harold E. "Red" Grange]]. Mauer was named Outstanding Athlete and Scholar in the Big Ten Conference as a senior, and graduated from Illinois with a [[bachelor's degree]] in 1926.

== Coaching career ==

Mauer was the head coach in football, basketball, and track at Batavia High School, from 1926 to 1927, after which he was the head coach of the [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team]] of the University of Kentucky in [[Lexington, Kentucky]] from 1927 to 1930, immediately preceding the legendary [[Adolph Rupp]].  Mauer's successful Wildcats teams were known as the "Mauer men," and he was one of the first coaches to popularize the [[bounce pass]] as an element of basketball offense.  His Wildcats teams posted an overall win–loss record of 40–14 (.741) in three seasons.

After leaving Kentucky, he became the head coach of the [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami Redskins men's basketball]] team of Miami University in [[Oxford, Ohio]], coaching the Redskins (now known as the "RedHawks") for eight seasons from 1930 to 1938. Mauer did not have a winning record in his first five seasons with the Redskins, but posted winning records in two of his final three seasons. During the 1937–1938 season, the Redskins finished 11–5. At Miami, he coached [[Walter Alston|Walter "Smoky" Alston]] who would go on manage the [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn]] and [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]. He finished his Miami career with an overall record of 46–80 (.365), leaving Oxford after the 1937–1938 season, and was replaced by [[Weeb Ewbank]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/06-07-m-baskbl-mediaguide.html |title=miami 2006 basketball media guide |access-date=December 17, 2006 |archive-date=February 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211221748/http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/06-07-m-baskbl-mediaguide.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Mauer became the head coach for the [[Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball]] team of the [[University of Tennessee]] in [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], for eight seasons between 1938 and 1947.<ref>Mauer's tenure at Tennessee was interrupted for a single season by [[World War II]] in 1943–1944.</ref>  Mauer's Volunteers had significant success, posting an overall record of 127–41 (.756), and winning two [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) championships (1941, 1943) and two SEC tournaments (1941, 1943). In 1945, John led the team to the Quarterfinals in the [[National Invitation Tournament]] (NIT). At the time, the [[National Invitation Tournament]] was more prestigious than the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA basketball tournament]]. During his time as the Volunteers' head basketball coach, he also worked as the head coach of the [[Tennessee Volunteers baseball]] team from 1938 to 1942, and as an assistant football coach for the [[Tennessee Volunteers football]] team under head coaches Neyland and [[John Barnhill (American football)|John Barnhill]] from 1938 to 1946.

Mauer later served as the head coach for the [[Army Black Knights men's basketball]] team of the U.S. Military Academy in [[West Point, New York]], for four seasons from 1947 to 1951,<ref>Associated Press, "[https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=FA0D14F83854157B93C3A8178FD85F458585F9  Mauer Leaves West Point Post]," ''The New York Times'', p. S48 (April 11, 1951).  Retrieved June 26, 2010.</ref> and the [[Florida Gators men's basketball]] team of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, for nine seasons from 1951 to 1960.  His four Army Cadets teams finished 33–35 (.485); his nine Gators teams compiled a record of 98–102 (.490).  While coaching the Gators basketball team, he also served as an assistant coach for the [[Florida Gators football]] team under head coaches [[Bob Woodruff (American football)|Bob Woodruff]] and [[Ray Graves]].

After his final season as the Gators' basketball mentor, Mauer returned to the University of Tennessee and worked as an assistant coach for the Volunteers football team from 1960 to 1963 under head coaches [[Bowden Wyatt]] and [[James Allen McDonald|Jim McDonald]].

== Legacy ==

Mauer died in Knoxville on December 20, 1978; he was 77 years old.  He was survived by his wife Grace, their two sons, and their five grandchildren.

Mauer was the first, and to date the only, person to serve as the head coach in the same sport at three different SEC universities.  His winning percentage as the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball head coach remains the best of the modern era; his winning percentage as the Kentucky Wildcats' head is still among the program's six best of the modern era. Mauer was posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

==Head coaching record==

===College basketball===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|Kentucky Wildcats]]
 | conference = [[Southern Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1927
 | endyear    = 1930
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1927–28 NCAA men's basketball season|1927–28]]
 | name         = Kentucky
 | overall      = 12–6
 | conference   = 8–1
 | confstanding = T–3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1928–29 NCAA men's basketball season|1928–29]]
 | name         = Kentucky
 | overall      = 12–5
 | conference   = 7–4
 | confstanding = T–6th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1929–30 NCAA men's basketball season|1929–30]]
 | name         = Kentucky
 | overall      = 16–3
 | conference   = 9–1
 | confstanding = T–2nd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Kentucky
 | overall    = 40–14<ref>UK Athletics, Men's Basketball, [http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/all-time-coaches.html  All-Time UK Coaches].  Retrieved February 12, 2011.</ref>
 | confrecord = 24–6
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami Redskins]]
 | conference = Independent
 | startyear  = 1930
 | endyear    = 1938
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1930–31 NCAA men's basketball season|1930–31]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 5–10
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season|1931–32]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 6–10
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1932–33 NCAA men's basketball season|1932–33]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 3–13
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1933–34 NCAA men's basketball season|1933–34]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 4–11
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1934–35 NCAA men's basketball season|1934–35]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 3–12
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1935–36 NCAA men's basketball season|1935–36]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 9–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1936–37 NCAA men's basketball season|1936–37]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 5–11
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1937–38 NCAA men's basketball season|1937–38]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 11–5
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Miami (OH)
 | overall    = 46–80<ref name=2009miamimediaguide>''Miami University RedHawks Men's Basketball 2009-10 Fan Guide'', [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mioh/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/MBK09-10_FanGuide_History.pdf  History], Miami University Athletic Department, Oxford, Ohio, p. 107 (2009).  Retrieved February 12, 2011.</ref>
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball|Tennessee Volunteers]]
 | conference = [[Southeastern Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1938
 | endyear    = 1947
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1938–39 NCAA men's basketball season|1938–39]]
 | championship = 
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 14–7
 | conference   = 6–5
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1939–40 NCAA men's basketball season|1939–40]]
 | championship = 
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 14–7
 | conference   = 7–3
 | confstanding = 2nd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1940–41 NCAA men's basketball season|1940–41]]
 | championship = confboth
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 17–5
 | conference   = 8–3
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1941–42 NCAA men's basketball season|1941–42]]
 | championship = 
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 19–3
 | conference   = 7–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1942–43 NCAA men's basketball season|1942–43]]
 | championship = confboth
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 14–4
 | conference   = 6–3
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1944–45 NCAA men's basketball season|1944–45]]
 | championship =
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 18–5
 | conference   = 8–2
 | confstanding = T-1st
 | postseason   = [[1945 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Quarterfinal]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1945–46 NCAA men's basketball season|1945–46]]
 | championship =
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 15–5
 | conference   = 8–3
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1946–47 NCAA men's basketball season|1946–47]]
 | championship =
 | name         = Tennessee
 | overall      = 16–5
 | conference   = 10–3
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Tennessee
 | overall    = 127–41
 | confrecord  = 60–23<ref>''2010-11 Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide'', [http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/mbb-volmanac.pdf  Volmanac], University of Tennessee Athletic Department, Knoxville, Tennessee, pp. 166–167 (2010).  Retrieved February 12, 2011.</ref>
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Army Black Knights men's basketball|Army Cadets]]
 | conference = Independent
 | startyear  = 1947
 | endyear    = 1951
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1947–48 NCAA men's basketball season|1947–48]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 8–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season|1948–49]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 7–10
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season|1949–50]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 9–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1950–51 NCAA men's basketball season|1950–51]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 9–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Army
 | overall    = 33–35<ref name=srarmy>Sports-Reference.com, College Basketball, [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/ARMY/  Army Black Knights] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223095228/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/army/ |date=February 23, 2015 }}.  Retrieved February 12, 2011.</ref>
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Florida Gators men's basketball|Florida Gators]]
 | conference = [[Southeastern Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1951
 | endyear    = 1960
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season|1951–52]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 15–9
 | conference   = 7–7
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1952–53 NCAA men's basketball season|1952–53]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 13–6
 | conference   = 8–5
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season|1953–54]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 7–15
 | conference   = 3–11
 | confstanding = 10th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season|1954–55]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 12–10
 | conference   = 5–9
 | confstanding = 9th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season|1955–56]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 11–12
 | conference   = 4–10
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1956–57]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 14–10
 | conference   = 6–8
 | confstanding = 9th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1957–58]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 12–9
 | conference   = 5–9
 | confstanding = 9th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1958–59]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 8–15
 | conference   = 2–12
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1959–60]]
 | name         = Florida
 | overall      = 6–16
 | conference   = 3–11
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Florida
 | overall    = 98–102
 | confrecord = 43–82<ref name=2009ufmediaguide>''2009–10 Florida Gators Men's Basketball Media Guide'', [http://web.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/media/2009/pdf/91.pdf  History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711075718/http://web.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/media/2009/pdf/91.pdf |date=July 11, 2011 }}, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 124–125, 132, 134 (2009).  February 12, 2011.</ref>
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 | overall = 344–272
}}

== See also ==

{{Portal|Baseball|Biography|College football}}
* [[Army Black Knights]]
* [[Florida Gators]]
* [[History of the University of Florida]]
* [[Illinois Fighting Illini]]
* [[Kentucky Wildcats]]
* [[List of University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign people|List of University of Illinois people]]
* [[Miami Redhawks]]
* [[Tennessee Volunteers]]
* [[University of Florida Athletic Association|University Athletic Association]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{navboxes|list=
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{{Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach navbox}}
{{Army Black Knights men's basketball coach navbox}}
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{{1923 Illinois Fighting Illini football navbox}}
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}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauer, John}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Atlanta Falcons scouts]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Illinois]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Illinois]]
[[Category:Florida Gators football coaches]]
[[Category:Florida Gators men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Green Bay Packers scouts]]
[[Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:New York Giants scouts]]
[[Category:San Francisco 49ers scouts]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois]]
[[Category:Tennessee Volunteers baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Tennessee Volunteers basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Tennessee Volunteers football coaches]]