Ray Meyer
Basketball coach
Died when: 92 years 89 days (1106 months)Star Sign: Sagittarius
Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois.He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record.
Meyer coached DePaul to 21 post-season appearances (13 NCAA, eight NIT).In total, Meyer recorded 37 winning seasons and twelve 20-win seasons, including seven straight from 1978 to 1984.
Two Meyer-coached teams reached the Final Four (1943 and 1979), and in 1945, Meyer led DePaul past Bowling Green to capture the National Invitation Tournament, the school's only post-season title.
Meyer coached a College All-Star team that played a coast-to-coast series against the Harlem Globetrotters for 11 years.One of his best players was George Mikan, who was a game-changing player and basketball's first great "big man".
Meyer recruited Mikan from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, a school Meyer had himself earlier attended.Other top players coached by Meyer include former NBA players Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings.
During Meyer's tenure the basketball rivalry between DePaul and Loyola reached an extremely high level.Meyer's great-great nephew, Mike Starkman, played basketball for Loyola as a walk-on.
Meyer was a much-beloved figure in Chicago, and is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.He was succeeded as DePaul coach by his son, Joey, who led the team for several more seasons, but less successfully than had his father.
Meyer also ran a summer basketball camp near Three Lakes in northern Wisconsin for many years.
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