Ray Jauch MENDOTA Accomplishments • After graduating from Mendota, he played college football at Iowa, where he was a RB and member of Iowa’s 1958 national championship team; Led the nation in yards per carry in 1958 season • Drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 1960 AFL Draft, went to Winnipeg to launch his pro career in the CFL, career came to an abrupt halt after an injury in the 49th Grey Cup • Coached in the Canadian Football League, the United States Football League, and the Arena Football League as well as high school and college • In the CFL, he won three CFL Grey Cups, named two-time CFL Coach of the Year and is the sixth winningest coach in CFL history
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By Brandon LaChance
F
ootball was not Ray Jauch’s first love when it came to sports. Actually, competing with baseball and basketball, the pigskin may have been the third option for the 1956 Mendota graduate. When offered a scholarship to play football with the University of Iowa, the ranks changed. “I played everything. I kind of liked baseball and basketball better than football,” Jauch said. “When I went out to Iowa, things worked out pretty well for me. I was on scholarship to play football, so I didn’t play the others. I went out for freshman basketball, but I didn’t make the team. “I had a chance to go to Kansas to play basketball. The coach out there wrote me a letter and asked me to walk on. If I would have done that, I would have played with Wilt Chamberlain on the freshman team.” Iowa blossomed the running back’s love and skill for the game as he helped the Hawkeyes win the 1958 National Championship while leading the nation in yards per carry. When it was time to graduate in 1960, the Buffalo Bills of the newly founded AFL (created to compete with the NFL) drafted Jauch in the inaugural draft. Instead of playing for a new league, Jauch wanted a solid foundation with longevity. “I was drafted by Buffalo and I guess I could have gone, but people don’t remember the few years before when the AFL was the new league to compete with the NFL. It ended up going under. Here I had a chance to go to Canada and play in a
WHERE are they NOW
See Jauch Page 28 A NewsTribune Publication | Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame | September 29, 2021 27
