John James "Cap" McEwan (February 18, 1893 – August 9, 1970) was an American football player and coach. He played and coached at the United States Military Academy and was the head coach at the University of Oregon and College of the Holy Cross after his military career ended. He then spent two seasons in the professional ranks, coaching the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League from 1933 to 1934.
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 1893 Alexandria, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 1970 (aged 77) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1913–1916 | Army |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1919–1922 | Army (assistant) |
| 1923–1925 | Army |
| 1926–1929 | Oregon |
| 1930–1932 | Holy Cross |
| 1933–1934 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 59–23–6 (college) 9–11–1 (NFL) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1962 (profile) | |
Early life
editMcEwan played from 1913 to 1916 as a center at the United States Military Academy, where he was a three-time All-American and captain of the 1916 Army Cadets football team.[1] After graduating, McEwan served with the 3rd Infantry Division. He was president of the General Courts Martial and at Fort Sam Houston.[2] In 1917, he married Letty Peterson. They had two children, John Jr. and Janet.[2]
Coaching career
editIn 1919, McEwan returned to West Point as the head line coach. In December 1922, head coach Charles Dudley Daly resigned and was succeeded by McEwan.[3] In his three seasons as head coach, McEwan led Army to an 18–5–3 record. Following the 1925 season, McEwan accepted the head coaching position at Oregon and resigned from the Army.[4]
From 1926 to 1929 he was the head football coach at Oregon.[5] His record there stands at 20–13–2, with his 1928 team completing a 9–2 campaign. McEwan announced his resignation as head football coach on November 22, 1929.[6] He later back tracked and on December 19, announced that his "plans for the ensuing year are to continue by duties at the University of Oregon".[7] However, following reports that McEwan had provided Army with film of the Stanford–Oregon game, the University of Oregon student executive council voted to ask for McEwan's resignation, a move which was supported by university president, Dr. Arnold Bennett Hall.[8][9]
In 1930, McEwan became head coach at Holy Cross.[10] In 1932, he was suspended by the school following an in-game dispute with athletic trainer Bart F. Sullivan. McEwan accused Sullivan of insubordination for not substituting an injured player, while Sullivan claimed that the player was healthy and because the team had used all of its time outs, substituting a non-injured player would have resulted in a costly penalty.[11] McEwan filed a lawsuit to overturn his suspension, but withdrew it and resigned after reaching a settlement with the university on January 21, 1933.[12]
Later that year, he was hired to coach the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League by the team's new owners, Red Cagle and Shipwreck Kelly.[13] McEwan complied a 9–11–1 record over two seasons.[14]
Later life
editFollowing a financially unsuccessful 1934 season, Dodgers owner Dan Topping released McEwan and a number of the team's high-profile players.[15] McEwan was unable to secure another coaching position and became an investigator for the Works Progress Administration.[2] In 1942, he returned to active military duty and was assigned to the office of the Chief of Engineers.[16] Receiving the rank of Lieutenant colonel, McEwan served as the labor relations officer for the North Atlantic Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[17] From 1947 to 1963, he was the chief of labor relations for the New York City Transit Authority.[2]
McEwan died on August 9, 1970, at the Veteran's Hospital in Manhattan.[2]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Cadets (Independent) (1923–1925) | |||||||||
| 1923 | Army | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| 1924 | Army | 5–1–2 | |||||||
| 1925 | Army | 7–2 | |||||||
| Army: | 18–5–3 | ||||||||
| Oregon Webfoots (Pacific Coast Conference) (1926–1929) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Oregon | 2–4–1 | 1–4 | 7th | |||||
| 1927 | Oregon | 2–4–1 | 0–4–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1928 | Oregon | 9–2 | 4–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1929 | Oregon | 7–3 | 4–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| Oregon: | 20–13–2 | 9–11–1 | |||||||
| Holy Cross Crusaders (Independent) (1930–1932) | |||||||||
| 1930 | Holy Cross | 8–2 | |||||||
| 1931 | Holy Cross | 7–2–1 | |||||||
| 1932 | Holy Cross | 6–1[n 1] | |||||||
| Holy Cross: | 21–5–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 59–23–6 | ||||||||
NFL
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BKN | 1933 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .550 | 2nd in East | – | – | – | – |
| BKN | 1934 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 3rd in East | – | – | – | – |
| [1] | 9 | 11 | 1 | .452 | – | – | – | – | ||
Notes
edit- ^ McEwan was suspended after the first seven games of the 1932 season. Art Corcoran was appointed interim head coach for the final three games. Holy Cross finished the year with an overall record of 6–2–2.[18]
References
edit- ^ "McEwan Made Army Captain". Evening Tribune. November 18, 1915. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "John M'Ewan, 77, '14 All-American". The New York Times. August 10, 1970.
- ^ "Major Daly Resigns As West Point Coach". Providence News. December 22, 1922. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Oregon Selects M'Ewan As New Coach For 1926". St. Petersburg Times. December 15, 1925. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ McCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, OR: McCann Communications Corp. ISBN 0-9648244-7-7.
- ^ "McEwan Quits Job As Oregon Grid Mentor". Prescott Evening Courier. November 22, 1929. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "McEwan Denies Furnishing Grid Films for Army". St. Petersburg Times. December 20, 1929. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ Kirksey, George (December 21, 1929). "Penn Names Lud Wray As Head Coach". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Oregon Looking Around". The Bulletin. December 21, 1929. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "The Captain at Holy Cross". The Spokesman-Review. March 26, 1930. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "M'Ewan Sues to Keep His Coach Place". Schenectady Gazette. November 24, 1932. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Holy Cross Settles McEwan's Claim". Youngstown Vindicator. January 22, 1933. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Red Cagle And Shipwreck Kelly Buy Brooklyn Gridiron Franchise". The Portsmouth Times. August 23, 1933. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Cap McEwan". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Brooklyn Eleven Seeks Pitt's Izzy Weinstock". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 12, 1934. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Ordered to Duty". Youngstown Vindicator. June 30, 1942. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Resume Strike Parley, Workers Remain Idle". The Newburgh News. July 7, 1944. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Holy Cross Grid Coach Suspended". The Cincinnati Post. Cincinnati, Ohio. United Press. November 10, 1932. p. 18. Retrieved March 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
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