| No. 86 | |||||||
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| Position: | Halfback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1920-03-21)March 21, 1920 Cuero, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | October 24, 2013(2013-10-24) (aged 93) Daingerfield, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Cuero | ||||||
| College: | University of Texas at Austin | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Lewis Elwood "Mickey" Mayne (March 21, 1920 – October 24, 2013) was anAmerican footballhalfback who played three seasons in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) between 1946 and 1948. Mayne played for theBrooklyn Dodgers,Cleveland Browns andBaltimore Colts.
FromCuero, Texas, Mayne was a standout athlete starting in junior high school. He excelled in track and field, but was also a football star in high school. Mayne continued to play football at theUniversity of Texas at Austin; his Texas team won theSouthwest Conference in 1942 and was selected to play in theCotton Bowl the following year, Texas's first-ever bowl appearance. During his senior year, Mayne was called up for service inWorld War II.
Mayne was discharged in 1946 and signed with the Dodgers. He moved to Cleveland in 1947, when the team won the AAFC championship. Limited by injuries, he retired after spending the 1948 season with the Colts. After his playing career, Mayne became a high school coach and administrator in Texas, working at schools inWinnsboro andDaingerfield. He was inducted into hisCuero High School's hall of fame in 2006. Daingerfield renamed its football stadium Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium in his honor in 2009.
Growing up inCuero, Texas, Mayne first showed athletic promise in junior high school, when he won four events at a track meet inYoakum, Texas.[1] He became a star football player atCuero High School, and was selected to theHouston Post's All-Southeast Texas Class B team in hisjunior andsenior years.[1] He was described as the "Cuero crusher", a back who could also pass the ball and kick.[1] Mayne, who was nicknamed "Mugge" in high school, played in a North-South Texas all-star game at the end of his senior season. Cuero reached the regional playoffs that year, but lost 19–10 toJunction High School despite a 15-yard field goal and 95-yard touchdown return by Mayne.[1]
After graduating, Mayne enrolled at theUniversity of Texas at Austin, where he played football and ran track and got the nickname "Mickey".[1] Under head coachDana X. Bible, Mayne and theTexas Longhorns won theSouthwest Conference in 1942 and made their first-ever bowl appearance the following year, beatingGeorgia Tech 14–7 in theCotton Bowl.[1] Mayne met his wife, Nollie, in a geology class at Texas.[1] In his senior year, he left the school to serve in the military duringWorld War II.[1] He was sent for training toLincoln Air Base inNebraska and played on the station's service football team, the Wings.[1] He later moved for pilot training toAustin, Texas.[1]
Mayne was discharged in 1946. He got offers to play football for theChicago Bears of theNational Football League and theBrooklyn Dodgers of theAll-America Football Conference.[1] Mayne chose the Dodgers and played for the team for one season, during which he scored three touchdowns and intercepted four passes.[1][2] Mayne again entertained an offer to play for the Bears in 1947, and agreed to switch leagues after talking to team ownerGeorge Halas.[1] Mayne, however, was offered $3,000 more, plus a $500 bonus, by the AAFC'sCleveland Browns.[1] After getting Halas's blessing, Mayne signed with Cleveland.[2]
Mayne did not play in the first few games of the 1947 season because of injuries and an infection, but head coachPaul Brown made him the starter at right halfback in October.[3] The Browns finished the year with a 12–1–1 record and beat theNew York Yankees to win the AAFC championship.[4] Mayne spent a final year with theBaltimore Colts in 1948 before retiring from football.[2] He suffered a separated shoulder during the season, and was bothered by a two-year-old injury that turned out to be a bruised spinal cord.[2]
After his playing career, Mayne coached football and track and field atWinnsboro High School inWinnsboro, Texas and later atDaingerfield High School inDaingerfield, Texas.[1] At Daingerfield, Mayne taught history and guided his track and field team to a state championship in 1962.[1][5] He was the principal at the town's junior high and high school and later became the district superintendent before retiring in 1982.[1] His wife Nollie died in 2004. The couple had three children.[1] Mayne was inducted into Cuero High School's hall of fame in 2006.[1] Daingerfield High School renamed its stadium Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium in 2009 in his honor.[5] He died in 2013.[6]
