Jack Meagher

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Jack Meagher
Biographical details
Born(1894-07-05)July 5, 1894
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 1968(1968-12-07) (aged 74)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1916Notre Dame
1920Chicago Tigers
Position(s)End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1921–1928St. Edward's
1929–1933Rice
1934–1942Auburn
1944Iowa Pre-Flight
1946Miami Seahawks
Basketball
1921–1924St. Edward's
Baseball
1922–1929St. Edward's
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1934–1942Auburn
Head coaching record
Overall21–7 (college basketball)
1–5 (AAFC)
Bowls1–0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Football
SEC Coach of the Year (1935)

John Francis Meagher (July 5, 1894 – December 7, 1968) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator.

Meagher played football for the University of Notre Dame in 1916, rising to a second-team end under then-assistant coach, Knute Rockne.[1] He served with the United States Marines in France during World War I[2] and played in four games with the Chicago Tigers in 1920, the first year of the National Football League (NFL).

Meagher embarked on a career in coaching in 1921 at St. Edward's University, where he served as head football coach from 1921 to 1928, compiling a record of 24–21–4,[3] and as head basketball coach from 1921 to 1924. From 1929 to 1933, he coached football at Rice University, where he compiled a 26–26 record. From 1934 to 1942, he was the head football coach at Auburn University, where he compiled a 48–37–10 record. Shug Jordan was his assistant coach. During his nine seasons coaching the Auburn Tigers, they played in their first bowl game ever, the Bacardi Bowl. The game was held in Havana, Cuba. In 1935, Meagher was named the SEC Coach of the Year. He joined the Navy during World War II and served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy. Meagher also coached the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team in 1944 during World War II. In 1946, he coached the first six games of the season for the Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), going 1–5.

Former players of Meagher at Auburn University were known as Meagher's Marauders because of their aggression on the football field, and most of the games they played were on the road. During Meagher's first 6 years at Auburn, his players played only 3 home games. Meagher was the driving force behind the building of Auburn's stadium. Auburn Stadium opened in 1939 and seated 7,500. Meagher's Marauders award a scholarship every year to an Auburn student during one of the fall games. In 2015, the Coach Jack Meagher Award (CJM) was awarded to Vincent "Bo" Jackson.

Meager died on December 7, 1968.[4] He is buried at Hollywood Memorial Gardens East in Hollywood, Florida.[5] Meagher was inducted into the St. Edward's University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989.

Head coaching record[edit]

College football[edit]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP#
St. Edward's Saints (Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1921–1926)
1921 St. Edward's
1922 St. Edward's
1923 St. Edward's
1924 St. Edward's 6–2
1925 St. Edward's 3–4–1 1–3–1 T–10th
1926 St. Edward's 4–6 0–2 8th
St. Edward's Saints (Texas Conference) (1927–1928)
1927 St. Edward's 3–3–3 1–1–1 4th
1928 St. Edward's 6–5 3–1 2nd
St. Edward's:
Rice Owls (Southwest Conference) (1929–1933)
1929 Rice 2–7 0–5 7th
1930 Rice 8–4 2–4 6th
1931 Rice 6–4 3–3 4th
1932 Rice 7–3 3–3 3rd
1933 Rice 3–8 1–5 7th
Rice: 26–26 9–20
Auburn Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (1934–1942)
1934 Auburn 2–8 1–6 10th
1935 Auburn 8–2 5–2 4th
1936 Auburn 7–2–2 4–1–1 3rd T Bacardi
1937 Auburn 6–2–3 4–1–2 3rd W Orange
1938 Auburn 4–5–1 3–3–1 T–7th
1939 Auburn 5–5–1 3–3–1 T–5th
1940 Auburn 6–4–1 3–2–1 5th
1941 Auburn 4–5–1 0–4–1 11th
1942 Auburn 6–4–1 3–3 7th 16
Auburn: 48–37–10 26–25–7
Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (Independent) (1944)
1944 Iowa Pre-Flight 10–1 6
Iowa Pre-Flight: 10–1
Total:

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ND Football Trivia Question (11/12/13)". myNotreDame - Class of 1966. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  2. ^ "The Thresher" (PDF). Scholarship.rice.edu. March 15, 1929. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Maxymuk, John (August 2, 2012). NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920-2011. McFarland. ISBN 9780786492954.
  4. ^ "Playground Daily News from Fort Walton Beach, Florida · Page 9". Newspapers.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  5. ^ "Hollywood Memorial Gardens East Cemetery Records - Broward County, Florida". Learnwebskills.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.

External links[edit]