Hayman, Louis

Louis E. Hayman

Hayman was an All-America basketball player at Syracuse University in 1931 (he was a three-year starter for the Orange, from 1929-31 ),but he was even more successful as a football coach and executive. A member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, he arrived in Toronto the year after graduating from Syracuse to coach the University of Toronto basketball team. In 1933, at the age of 25, Louis became head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL (Canadian Football League) and led the Argos to the league championship (the Grey Cup).

Hayman led the Argonauts to two more Grey Cup titles (1937 and 1938), and then took over the Montreal Alouettes. He is credited with making football successful in the French-Canadian sports world. In 1949, he won a Grey Cup with the Alouettes and coached the team until 1951. He later returned to the Argonauts as general manager and president (he was also CFL president in the late 1960s). Hayman was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1975, the same year the Lou Hayman Trophy was inaugurated. The Hayman trophy is awarded annually to the Most Outstanding Player in the East Division in the CFL.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1908 - d. 1984

Career Highlights:
One of greatest basketball players for Syracuse University in the first half of the twentieth century, Hayman was a three-year starter for the Orangemen. In 1929, which was Hayman's sophomore year and his first as a member of the Syracuse varsity, he helped Syracuse garner a record of 11-4 by leading the team in scoring with 169 points (he was the 17th highest scorer among all Eastern players); he averaged 11.3 points per game.

The following year, he was named captain of the Orange and led the team to a 18-2 record, and they were considered one of the top five teams in the nation (there was no official poll until the late 1940s). An excellent defender, Hayman also demonstrated his scoring prowess in a number of games, including a 46-27 victory over Rochester College; Hayman scored 14 points in the game, more than half than the entire Rochester team could muster (New York Times, March 1, 1930). Only a few days later, in the Orange's 58-24 victory over Cornell, Hayman was even better. He racked up 22 points (and almost singlehandedly outscored Syracuse's opponents), despite missing much of the second half due to an injury. (New York Times, March 6, 1930).

In 1931, Hayman was named College Humor third team All-America as Syracuse had a record of 16-4 and remained one of the top teams in the country. Towards the end of the season, Syracuse played St. John's famed "Wonder Five" team and lost 25-16 as Hayman missed the game. It was St. John's 21st victory in a row and many believed that with Hayman in the line-up, Syracuse could have challenged the New York City team.

In 1946-47, Hayman was the managing director of the Toronto Huskies, a team in a new league called the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Although the Huskies folded following the season, the BAA continued to exist and eventually became the NBA in 1949 after merging with another major pro league, the National Basketball League.

Origin:
New York

Career Dates:
Hayman played at Syracuse University, 1929-1931..

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