 | |
| Nickname(s) | The Bull |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1909-04-08)April 8, 1909 |
| Place of birth | Berrien County, Michigan, US |
| Date of death | April 13, 1982(1982-04-13) (aged 73) |
| Place of death | Naples, Florida, US |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | C/LT |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career history | |
| As administrator | |
| 1945–1972 | University of Western Ontario athletic director |
| As coach | |
| 1935–1939 | Western Mustangs asst. |
| 1940–1969 | Western Mustangs coach |
| As player | |
| c. 1927 | Western State Broncos |
| c. 1932 | Detroit Titans |
| 1933–1935 | St. Michael's College |
| Career stats | |
| Wins | 110 |
| Losses | 77 |
| Ties | 11 |
| Yates Cup | 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1959 |
| Churchill Bowl | 1956, 1957, 1959 |
| |
John Pius Metras (April 8, 1909 – April 13, 1982) was an American coach ofCanadian football and basketball. He ledWestern Mustangs football from 1940 to 1969, winning 110 games, eightYates Cups, and threeChurchill Bowls. He coached 157 players who graduated to play in theCanadian Football League, including his sonJohn. Metras was the first college coach inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame, and is honored by the annualJ. P. Metras Trophy for the outstandingU Sports lineman. He was previously a player-coach forSt. Michael's College, and was named an all-American as captain of theDetroit Titans.
As the athletic director atUniversity of Western Ontario from 1945 to 1972, Metras also coached basketball and ice hockey. Never having a losing basketball season in 19 years, his teams won 14Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association championships, won 134 of 164 league games, and were the first university team to compete in theCanadian Olympic team trials. He was posthumously inducted into theCanadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
John Pius Metras was born April 8, 1909, inBerrien County, Michigan,[1] and grew up inDowagiac, Michigan.[2][3] He was a four-sport athlete in high school and an all-statehalfback.[4] After graduating from Dowagiac High School, he played football and basketball atWestern State Teachers College.[5][6] Originally playingleft tackle, Metras wascaptain of theDetroit Titans in 1932,[7][8] when he was named an all-American playingcenter.[9] After graduation fromUniversity of Detroit, he tried out for theDetroit Lions.[10]
Metras came to Canada with teammate Bill Storen in 1933, to play in the seniorOntario Rugby Football Union division forSt. Michael's College.[4][10] As aplayer-coach and center, he earnedCA$100 per week plusroom and board.[11][12]The Canadian Press named him an Eastern Canada second-team all-star at centre in 1933,[13] and an Eastern Canada first-team all-star at centre in 1934.[14] At the end of his playing career, he was 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg).[1]
Metras joinedUniversity of Western Ontario as an assistant coach to Storen forWestern Mustangs football from 1935 to 1939, then succeeded Storen as the team's head coach from 1940 to 1969.[4][10] During 35 years coaching the Mustangs, he accumulated a lifetime head coach record of 110 wins, 77 losses, and 11 ties,[a] won nine Senior Intercollegiate Football League championships,[b] and once had a 29-game undefeated streak.[c] His Mustangs won theYates Cup as league champions in 1939,[d] 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1957, and 1959;[18] and wereChurchill Bowl champions versus theUBC Thunderbirds in 1956, 1957, and 1959.[e] He coached 157 players who graduated to play in theCanadian Football League.[11][17] Metras felt thatJoe Krol was the most well-rounded athlete he had coached.[4] Other notable former players of Metras include politiciansDon Getty andJohn Robarts, and justiceCoulter Osborne.[3] Metras was succeeded by his protegeFrank Cosentino in 1970.[3] Metras set a career record for wins by a Canadian university coach which stood until broken byLarry Haylor in 1998.[22]
In addition to football, Metras coached the Western Mustangs basketball team from 1945 to 1964,[10][23] and was a member of the U.S.–Canadabasketball rules committee.[f] His basketball team played annual home-and-home exhibition games versusAssumption College in Windsor. He regularly recruited athletes from the Windsor Area which had no university football, and limited academic options at the time.[9] He booked suites of rooms at the Prince Edward Hotel, filled a bathtub full of ice and beer, and held all-night recruitment parties for local high school football and basketball coaches.[9] Metras never had a losing basketball season in 19 years of coaching, and won 14Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association championships.[23] He twice took his team to theCanadian Olympic team trials in 1947–48 and 1951–52, becoming the first university team to compete in the trials. The Western Mustangs won 134 of 164 league games under his leadership.[26]
Metras stressed fundamentals while coaching, and did not place winning above an education. He was opposedathletic scholarships since the money came from donors who prioritized winning over education.[4] He also coachedWestern Mustangs men's ice hockey,[12] and was the athletic director from 1945 to 1972, when succeeded byBob Barney.[27][28] As of 1969, Metras was the only remaining person in the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association to have the combined roles of athletic director and head coach of football. He felt the workload too much to do justice to both positions.[4] In retirement, he was named to the university's board of governors as chairman of the intercollegiate athletic program,[27] was a secondary school liaison,[28] and assistant manager of theThompson Recreation and Athletic Centre.[12] As of 1983, he worked on a fundraising program to refurbishJ. W. Little Memorial Stadium, the Mustangs' home football field.[3]
Metras and his family were council members of theKnights of Columbus in Dowagiac.[8] He was married to Shirley, and had two sons and a daughter.[3] His son,John, played football for him with the Mustangs, won the1965 Grey Cup playing center for theHamilton Tiger-Cats, and later became a lawyer.[12][29]
Metras was a recreational golfer, and played 36 holes of golf hours before his death.[9] He died from a heart attack on April 13, 1982, at his seasonal home inNaples, Florida.[3] He was interred at St. Peter's Cemetery in London, Ontario.[30]
In 1969, Metras was the first recipient of theCanadian College Bowl award for outstanding contribution to college football.[31] In 1970, he was one of the two inaugural recipients of the merit award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches of Canada.[26] In its centennial year of 1974, theCanadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union established theJ. P. Metras Trophy awarded annually to the outstanding university football lineman.[16] In the same year, theOntario Universities Athletics Association began the J. P. Metras Award for the outstanding university football lineman in Ontario.[32]
The straightforward and gruff demeanor of Metras earned him the nickname, "The Bull".[3] He was inducted into the builder category of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1980,[15] the first college coach to be given the honor.[11][17] He was inducted into the University of Western Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1980,[10] and the university's John P. Metras Sports Museum was founded in 1984.[33] He was posthumously inducted into theCanadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.[23]