Posted on 03/17/2006 4:06:32 PM PST by Perdogg
A job title usually tells what we do, not who we are, but it was different with Ray Meyer.
He was a husband for 46 years and a father of six children. Most of all, though, he was a basketball coach.
For Meyer, who died of congestive heart failure Friday afternoon at age 92, his job description was his life description. That's why his late wife, Marge, and his six kids didn't call him Ray or Dad. They called him "Coach."
It was a tribute to his dedication to the game and the young men who played it for him as well as to his devotion to DePaul University, where Meyer was head basketball coach for 42 years.
"He always was and always will be 'The Coach,'" his son Joey said in 1984 when he succeeded his father at DePaul.
Late in Meyer's career, America would adopt him as a national treasure. His pained expressions and gap-toothed grins, once merely coaching idiosyncrasies, became trademarks.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Good bye coach. Last good part of DePaul to die.
He had some great teams at DePaul. I didn't know he was still alive. Rest in Peace Coach Meyer.
As a Marquette fan...Ray was one of the best. You are now in heaven with Al McGuire!! Good bye coach Meyer
If it weren't for Larry Bird he his team would have played Michigan State in 1979 for the championship. RIP.
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