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Jack Faber

Jack Faber
Faber at Maryland in 1928
Biographical details
Born(1903-01-13)January 13, 1903
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 1994(1994-01-14) (aged 91)
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Playing career
Lacrosse
1926–1927Maryland
Position(s)Attackman, Out Home
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Lacrosse
1928–1929Maryland
1930–1963Maryland (co-HC)
Football
1933–1934Maryland (assistant)
1935Maryland
1940–1941Maryland
Head coaching record
Overall249–57 (lacrosse)
12–13–4 (football)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Lacrosse
8 USILA (1928, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1955, 1956, 1959)
9 ACC (1955–1961, 1963, 1965)
Awards
USILA Coach of the Year (1959)

John Edgar Faber Jr. (January 13, 1903 – January 14, 1994) was an American microbiologist and college football and lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. 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 on January 13, 1903, and attended Central High School in Washington, D.C.[1] He then went on to college at the University of Maryland, where he played on the Maryland lacrosse team, earning letters in 1926 and 1927,[2] and the basketball team, earning letters from 1924 to 1927.[3] The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (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.[4]

Professional career

From the University of Maryland, Faber earned a B.S. in 1926, a M.S. in 1928, and a Ph.D. in bacteriology in 1937.[5] In 1945, he was appointed the head of his alma mater's Department of Microbiology, a position he held for 18 years.[6][7] During World War II, Faber joined the United States Army and served from 1942 to 1946, attaining the rank of major.[1] He spent three years working at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.[6]

While teaching bacteriology at Maryland, Faber also held coaching duties.[6] He served as the head coach for the Maryland lacrosse team from 1928 to 1963.[7] During his tenure, Faber's lacrosse teams compiled a 249–57 record[7] and secured eight outright or shared USILA national championships and nine Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships.[6][8] From 1930 onward, Faber shared coaching duties with Albert Heagy,[9] with the former running the offense and the latter the defense.[10] In 1936, Faber led Maryland to capture the first Wingate Memorial Trophy, the national championship bestowed by the USILA. The following year, they shared the title with Princeton.[11] In the inaugural North-South Senior All-Star Game in 1940, Faber coached the South team, which lost to the North team coached by Princeton's William F. Logan, 6–5.[12] He also coached all-star teams in 1946 and 1956.[1] In 1955 and 1956, Faber led Maryland to back-to-back 11–0 seasons, with the only close matches coming against period powerhouse Navy, in 1955, and the highly successful Mount Washington Lacrosse Club, 12–11 in 1956.[13] In 1959, Maryland finished with a 10–1 mark as USILA co-champions alongside Army and Johns Hopkins, and Faber was named the USILA Coach of the Year.[14]

Faber also served on the football staff. He became the assistant field coach under Curly Byrd in 1933.[15] Byrd was able to devote less time to the team because of his duties as university vice president.[15][16] 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.[17] In 1935, Faber took over as head coach when Byrd was promoted to university president. Faber continued to employ his predecessor's pass-oriented "Byrd system" and hired Richmond head coach Frank Dobson as an assistant.[18] Despite facing "an almost suicidal schedule",[19] Faber's veteran team led by back Bill Guckeyson compiled a 7–2–2 record to finish in third place in the Southern Conference.[20] 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.[20] 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.[20] The coaching trio was subsequently replaced by Clark Shaughnessy, who two seasons prior had orchestrated a remarkable one-year turnaround at Stanford using a revolutionary version of the T formation.[21] Faber also spent time as an assistant basketball coach at Maryland,[22] and in 1932, filled in for head coach Burton Shipley who had fallen ill.[23] Faber served two terms as a president of the ACC.[6]

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 in 1983.[24] He survived his wife of 62 years, Olyure née Hammack, who died in 1992. Faber died of pneumonia two years later on January 14, 1994, and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[6] The University of Maryland Alumni Association Hall of Fame posthumously inducted Faber in 2000.[8] 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.[25]

Head coaching record

Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Maryland Terrapins (Southern Conference) (1935)
1935 Maryland 7–2–2 3–1–1 3rd
Maryland Terrapins (Southern Conference) (1940–1941)
1940 Maryland 2–6–1 0–1–1 12th
1941 Maryland 3–5–1 1–2 T–11th
Maryland: 12–13–4 4–4–2
Total: 12–13–4

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c John E. Faber Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, retrieved May 29, 2010.
  2. ^ Men's Lacrosse All-Time Letterman: F Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Men's Basketball All-Time Letterman: F Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  4. ^ All-Americans Archived 2014-12-01 at archive.today, United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  5. ^ MAC to Millennium; Alumni Hall of Fame, University of Maryland Archives, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Ed Heard, John E. Faber, UM lacrosse coach, The Baltimore Sun, January 16, 1994, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Collection: John E. Faber papers | Archival Collections". archives.lib.umd.edu. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Hall of Fame: Members Archived 2010-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland Alumni Association, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  9. ^ David Ungrady, Tales From The Maryland Terrapins, p. 29, Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, ISBN 1-58261-688-4.
  10. ^ Bill Tanton, Maryland lost more than ex-coach with the passing of Faber, The Baltimore Sun, January 18, 1994, retrieved May 29, 2010.
  11. ^ Dave Pietramala and Bob Scott, Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition, p. 16, JHU Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8018-8410-1.
  12. ^ Loyola: Shane Koppens and Paul Richards Selected To USILA North-South Roster Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, Lacrosse Magazine, May 20, 2008, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  13. ^ Pietramala and Scott, p. 17.
  14. ^ Men's Lacrosse Media Guide Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, p. 8, 2006.
  15. ^ a b Calling 'Em Right With Albert W. Keane, Sports Editor, The Hartford Courant, September 10, 1933.
  16. ^ Florida, Maryland Play At Tampa Today, The Palm Beach Post, November 29, 1933.
  17. ^ Ungrady, p. 41.
  18. ^ Maryland is 'Dark Horse' in Conference Grid Race, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal, September 6, 1935.
  19. ^ Gamecocks Depend on Speed, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal, p. 12, September 25, 1935.
  20. ^ a b c Annual Records and Finishes Archived 2018-10-26 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), 2007 Terrapin Football Record Book, p. 2, University of Maryland, 2007.
  21. ^ Shaughnessy To Leave Stanford For Maryland Post: Master of 'T' Formation New Old Line Coach, The Sunday Spartanburg Herald-Journal, p. 22, March 21, 1942.
  22. ^ Sports Trail, Schenectady Gazette, p. 28, March 25, 1948.
  23. ^ Dixie Cage Teams Gather For Tourney; Kentucky and Tulane Hook Up In Battle Royal In First Round, The Palm Beach Post, February 26, 1932.
  24. ^ Wall of Fame Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved May 28, 2010.
  25. ^ Faber Memorial Men's Lacrosse Scholarship Endowment Fund, University of Maryland, retrieved May 29, 2010.