Harry J. Mehre (September 18, 1901 – September 27, 1978) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(1928–1937) and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

(1938–1945), compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 98–60–7. Mehre also served as the head coach of the

Minneapolis Marines The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1924. The team was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name. The Marines were owned locally by Minneapolitans John Dunn ...

of the NFL in 1923, tallying a mark of 4–5–2.

Early years and education

Harry Mehre was born in Huntington, Indiana on September 10, 1901. Mehre attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and played center on both the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

teams (serving as co-

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the 1919–1920 basketball team and captain of the 1920–1921 team).

Sports career

After Mehre graduated in 1922, he played in that year and in 1923 with the Minneapolis Marines, also serving as head coach in 1923. Mehre was also a football line coach and head basketball coach at the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1924, Mehre came to the

as an assistant coach under George Woodruff. Upon Woodruff's retirement, Mehre became head coach and compiled a 59–34–6 record over ten years. He also was Georgia's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

. After leaving Georgia, Mehre served as the head coach at the

from 1938 to 1945, compiling a 39–26–1 record there.

Death and legacy

Mehre was inducted into the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...

in 1971. He died in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 1978. In 1986, Butts–Mehre Heritage Hall was dedicated on the University of Georgia campus in honor of Mehre and fellow Bulldogs coach

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140–8 ...

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca.1949, pp.3543-3561

New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for George Woodruff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehre, Harry 1901 births 1978 deaths American football centers Centers (basketball) Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Minneapolis Marines coaches Minneapolis Marines players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Ole Miss Rebels athletic directors Ole Miss Rebels football coaches St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football coaches People from Huntington, Indiana Basketball players from Indiana American men's basketball players