John Edgar Faber Jr. (January 13, 1903 – January 14, 1994) was an American microbiologist and

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

coach at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

. Faber served as the Maryland lacrosse coach from 1928 to 1963, during which time he compiled a 249–57 record and secured numerous national and conference championships. Faber was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1963. He coached the Maryland football team in 1935 and again, as a co-head coach alongside Al Heagy and Al Woods, from 1940 to 1941. He compiled a 12–13–4 record in football.

Early life

Faber was born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

on January 13, 1903, and attended Central High School in Washington, D.C.John E. Faber
, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, retrieved May 29, 2010. He then went on to college at the

, where he played on the Maryland lacrosse team, earning

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alpha ...

in 1926 and 1927, and the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

, earning letters from 1924 to 1927. The

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the vars ...

(USILA) named Faber an honorable mention All-American as an inside attackman in 1926 and a third-team All-American at the out home position in 1927.

Professional career

From the University of Maryland, Faber earned a B.S. in 1926, a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in 1928, and a Ph.D. in bacteriology in 1937. In 1945, he was appointed the head of his alma mater's Department of Microbiology, a position he held for 18 years.Ed Heard
John E. Faber, UM lacrosse coach
''The Baltimore Sun'', January 16, 1994, retrieved May 28, 2010. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Faber joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and served from 1942 to 1946, attaining the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. He spent three years working at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

in Washington, D.C. While teaching

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

at Maryland, Faber also held coaching duties. He served as the head coach for the Maryland lacrosse team from 1928 to 1963. During his tenure, Faber's lacrosse teams compiled a 249–57 record and secured eight outright or shared USILA national championships and nine

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

(ACC) championships. From 1930 onward, Faber shared coaching duties with Albert Heagy, with the former running the offense and the latter the defense. In 1936, Faber led Maryland to capture the first

Wingate Memorial Trophy The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national champion in men's college lacrosse from 1936 to 1970, and the NCAA Men's Champion in 1971-1972. The first intercollegiate l ...

, the national championship bestowed by the USILA. The following year, they shared the title with

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

. In the inaugural

North-South Senior All-Star Game ''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenian comedy directed by Davit Babakhanyan and Vazgen Muradyan, starring Diana Malenko, Sona Shahgeldyan and David Tovmasyan. The film was produced by ...

in 1940, Faber coached the South team, which lost to the North team coached by Princeton's William F. Logan, 6–5. He also coached all-star teams in 1946 and 1956. In 1955 and 1956, Faber led Maryland to back-to-back 11–0 seasons, with the only close matches coming against period powerhouse

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, in 1955, and the highly successful

Mount Washington Lacrosse Club The Mount Washington Lacrosse Club is an amateur field lacrosse club based in Baltimore, Maryland. As one of the most successful and well-known lacrosse clubs in history, at one point it dominated the sport at both the collegiate and club level. Th ...

, 12–11 in 1956. In 1959, Maryland finished with a 10–1 mark as USILA co-champions alongside

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

, and Faber was named the USILA Coach of the Year. Faber also served on the football staff. He became the assistant field coach under Curly Byrd in 1933. Byrd was able to devote less time to the team because of his duties as university vice president.Calling 'Em Right With Albert W. Keane, Sports Editor
''The Hartford Courant'', September 10, 1933. In 1930, Faber enticed Bosey Berger, Maryland's first basketball All-American, to join the football team with the promise of free late night dining hall meals. In

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

, Faber took over as head coach when Byrd was promoted to

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

. Faber continued to employ his predecessor's pass-oriented "Byrd system" and hired

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

head coach Frank Dobson as an assistant. Despite facing "an almost suicidal schedule", Faber's veteran team led by back

Bill Guckeyson John William Guckeyson (; July 7, 1915 – May 21, 1944) was an American athlete and military aviator. He was the first University of Maryland football player selected in the NFL Draft. Guckeyson was killed in combat as a fighter pilot during t ...

compiled a 7–2–2 record to finish in third place in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

. Faber was succeeded as head football coach by Dobson in 1936, but in turn, replaced him as a co-head coach alongside Al Heagy and Al Woods in 1940 and 1941. Those teams finished with 2–6–1 and 3–5–1 records, respectively, to bring Faber's combined football coaching record to 12–13–4.Annual Records and Finishes
(PDF), ''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', p. 2, University of Maryland, 2007. The coaching trio was subsequently replaced by

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (originally O'Shaughnessy) (March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, although that ...

, who two seasons prior had orchestrated a remarkable one-year turnaround at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

using a revolutionary version of the

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarter ...

. Faber also spent time as an assistant basketball coach at Maryland, and in 1932, filled in for head coach

Burton Shipley Howard Burton Shipley (January 17, 1890 – February 22, 1976) was a multi-sport athlete and coach for the Maryland Terrapins at the University of Maryland. He is probably most remembered as the first and long-time head coach of the men's basketb ...

who had fallen ill. Faber served two terms as a president of the ACC.

Later life

He retired from the University of Maryland in 1963 but continued teaching Epidemiology into the 1970s. Faber was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame that year and into the

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland. The Hall of Fa ...

in 1983. He survived his wife of 62 years, Olyure née Hammack, who died in 1992. Faber died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

two years later on January 14, 1994, and was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. The University of Maryland Alumni Association Hall of Fame posthumously inducted Faber in 2000.Hall of Fame: Members
, University of Maryland Alumni Association, retrieved May 28, 2010. In 2003, Maryland established the Faber Memorial Men's Lacrosse Scholarship Endowment Fund through the Maryland Educational Foundation, Inc. to award scholarships to men's lacrosse players.Faber Memorial Men's Lacrosse Scholarship Endowment Fund
University of Maryland, retrieved May 29, 2010.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faber, Jack 1903 births 1994 deaths American men's basketball players American microbiologists Maryland Terrapins football coaches Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse coaches Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches University of Maryland, College Park faculty United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Pennsylvania