Lewis Elwood "Mickey" Mayne (March 21, 1920 – October 24, 2013) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

halfback who played three seasons in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC) between 1946 and 1948. Mayne played for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. From

Cuero, Texas Cuero ( ) is a city in and the county seat of DeWitt County, Texas, DeWitt County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,128 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The city of Cuero got its start in the mid-19th century as a ...

, 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 the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

; his Texas team won the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

in 1942 and was selected to play in the Cotton Bowl the following year, Texas's first-ever bowl appearance. During his senior year, Mayne was called up for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 in Winnsboro and Daingerfield. He was inducted into his Cuero High School's hall of fame in 2006. Daingerfield renamed its football stadium Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium in his honor in 2009.

High school and college career

Growing up in

, Mayne first showed athletic promise in junior high school, when he won four events at a track meet in

Yoakum, Texas Yoakum is a city in Lavaca and DeWitt counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 5,908 at the 2020 census. History The area was sparsely settled until a townsite was laid out with the construction of the San Antonio and Aransas ...

. He became a star football player at Cuero High School, and was selected to the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...

s All-Southeast Texas Class B team in his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

years. He was described as the "Cuero crusher", a back who could also pass the ball and kick. 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 to Junction High School despite a 15-yard field goal and 95-yard touchdown return by Mayne. After graduating, Mayne enrolled at the

, where he played football and ran track and got the nickname "Mickey". Under head coach Dana X. Bible, Mayne and the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

won the

in 1942 and made their first-ever bowl appearance the following year, beating

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

14–7 in the Cotton Bowl. Mayne met his wife, Nollie, in a geology class at Texas. In his senior year, he left the school to serve in the military during

. He was sent for training to Lincoln Air Base in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

and played on the station's service football team, the Wings. He later moved for pilot training to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Professional career

Mayne was discharged in 1946. He got offers to play football for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and the

of the

. Mayne chose the Dodgers and played for the team for one season, during which he scored three touchdowns and intercepted four passes. Mayne again entertained an offer to play for the Bears in 1947, and agreed to switch leagues after talking to team owner

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

. Mayne, however, was offered $3,000 more, plus a $500 bonus, by the AAFC's

. After getting Halas's blessing, Mayne signed with Cleveland. Mayne did not play in the first few games of the 1947 season because of injuries and an infection, but head coach

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...

made him the starter at right halfback in October. The Browns finished the year with a 12–1–1 record and beat the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

to win the AAFC championship. Mayne spent a final year with the

in 1948 before retiring from football. 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.

Later life and coaching career

After his playing career, Mayne coached football and track and field at Winnsboro High School in

Winnsboro, Texas Winnsboro is a city in Franklin and Wood counties in northeastern Texas, United States, north of Tyler. The population was 3,455 at the 2020 census. Settlement of Winnsboro began in the 1850s with a post office established between 1854 and 18 ...

and later at

Daingerfield High School Daingerfield High School is 3A public high school located in Daingerfield, Texas, United States. It is part of the Daingerfield-Lone Star Independent School District located in central Morris County. In 2011, the school was rated " Academicall ...

Daingerfield, Texas Daingerfield is a city in and the county seat of Morris County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,560 at the 2010 census. The bluegrass instrumental tune Old Dangerfield by Bill Monroe was named after the town of Daingerfield. Geograph ...

. At Daingerfield, Mayne taught history and guided his track and field team to a state championship in 1962. He was the principal at the town's junior high and high school and later became the district superintendent before retiring in 1982. His wife Nollie died in 2004. The couple had three children. Mayne was inducted into Cuero High School's hall of fame in 2006. Daingerfield High School renamed its stadium Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium in 2009 in his honor. He died in 2013.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayne, Lew 1920 births Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players University of Texas at Austin alumni 2013 deaths Sportspeople from Cuero, Texas People from Daingerfield, Texas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II