John Owsley Manier (March 18, 1887 – September 1, 1956) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. He played at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

as a Fullback from 1904 to 1906 and at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1908 as a halfback. Manier was a third-team selection on the 1906 College Football All-America Team and was named to the College Football All-Southern Team in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, and

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. After graduating from Penn with a medical degree, he return to Vanderbilt and an assistant medical professor and assistant football coach.

Early years

J. Owsley Manier was born on March 18, 1887, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, to William R. Manier and Mary Owsley.

Vanderbilt University

Manier enrolled at

, was an excellent student and received his A. B. degree in 1907.

Football

Manier was a prominent fullback on coach

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American college football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and a ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) within the Southe ...

team from

, joining the team in McGugin's first year as head coach. He was a "great plunging back" who in which every year he played at Vanderbilt was both a member of

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(SIAA) championship teams and selected All-Southern. In 1915,

John Heisman John William Heisman ( ; October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

said Vanderbilt's three greatest players ever were Manier, Ray Morrison, and Bob Blake.

1906

Manier scored five touchdowns against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in a 78–0 victory and again ran for five touchdowns over

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 ...

(37–6) in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

'' sportswriter Alex Lynn wrote after the Georgia Tech game, Manier was "the greatest fullback and all round man ever seen in Atlanta." Manier played in the days before two platoons and so also played on defense. In the 33–0 win over Rose Polytechnic, in which again he scored five touchdowns, he also "probably prevented the visitors from scoring by his clever defensive work." Manier was the first Vanderbilt football player to be selected to an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

team; selected third-team All-America by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

in 1906. This makes Manier the first Southern player to make any of Camp's teams.

University of Pennsylvania

He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from Vanderbilt, and his M. D. from the

1908

He played a bit on the

Penn Quakers football The Penn Quakers football program is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are a NCAA Division I, Division I Footbal ...

team as well, in

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

, for he had a year of eligibility left. "But his effectiveness at Pennsylvania was lessened by the attempt of the coaches to change his style of bucking a line from the low, plunging dive to running into it erect, knees drawn high and great dependence upon his companion backs to "hike" him." At Penn he was shifted to halfback, and mostly used for swift plunges into the line. Penn defeated Michigan, exacting revenge for the multiple losses suffered by Manier to Michigan at Vanderbilt.

Coaching and medical practice

After his time in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

he returned to Vanderbilt as an assistant football coach and assistant medical professor. He practiced in Nashville and gave his spare time to the team. Known years with his assistance include 1911 to 1915 and 1920.

Medicine

Manier spent the winter of 1911 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. He accompanied the Vanderbilt hospital unit to

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

in 1917. In 1935 he was president of the Tennessee Medical Association.

Illness and death

In 1948, Manier developed coronary thrombosis, as well as legions on his legs while vacationing in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1952. He had a vocal cord removed, and finally an embolism in January 1953 which confined him to his home for his remaining years. Manier died on September 1, 1956, at his home in Nashville. The ''

Nashville Banner The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unt ...

'' reported his death in 1956: "Vanderbilt University loved him, and no alma mater has been better served by an alumnus."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manier, Owsley 1887 births 1956 deaths American football fullbacks American football halfbacks Vanderbilt Commodores football players Penn Quakers football players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches All-Southern college football players Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Vanderbilt University faculty Coaches of American football from Tennessee Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Physicians from Tennessee