Meyer, Ray

▪ 2007

Raymond Joseph Meyer 

      American collegiate basketball coach (b. Dec. 18, 1913, Chicago, Ill.—d. March 17, 2006, Wheeling, Ill.), amassed the most team victories of active coaches in the early 1980s. Meyer played basketball at Notre Dame University (South Bend, Ind.; B.A., 1938), where he was forward (1936–38) and captain (1937–38). As head coach at De Paul University, Chicago, from 1942 until his retirement in 1984, he won 724 games and had a .671 winning percentage. In addition, he was renowned for turning the gawky (2.8-m [6-ft 10-in]-tall) George Mikan into a superstar and one of the game's first effective “big men.” The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Meyer Coach of the Year in 1979. He took 20 teams to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Invitational Tournament championships and won the NIT championship in 1945. Meyer was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, and in 1981 he received the Hall of Fame's John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.

* * *

▪ American coach

in full  Raymond Joseph Meyer  

born Dec. 18, 1913, Chicago, Ill., U.S.

died March 17, 2006 , Wheeling, Ill.

      U.S. collegiate basketball coach with the most team victories of active coaches in the early 1980s.

      Meyer played basketball at St. Patrick's High School (Chicago) and at Notre Dame University (South Bend, Ind.; B.A. 1938), where he was forward (1936–38) and captain (1937–38). He then served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame (1940–42). He was head coach at De Paul University (Chicago) from 1942 until his retirement in 1984. In his career he won 724 games with a .671 winning percentage. Meyer was named coach of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1979. He took 20 teams to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Invitational Tournament (NIT) championships, and won the NIT championship in 1945. Meyer was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

      One of the most respected spokeman for college basketball, “The Coach,” as Meyer was known, did radio color commentary for De Paul games while his son Joey coached the Blue Demons. Meyer's summer basketball camp in Door County, Wis., attracted many top young players.

* * *