Mack Saxon
{{Short description|American sports player and coach (1901–1949)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Mack Saxon
| image = Mack_Saxon.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|11|21}}
| birth_place = Palestine, Texas, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1949|05|08|1901|11|21}}
| death_place = Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| player_years1 = 1925–1926
| player_team1 = Texas
| player_positions = Quarterback
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1927–1928
| coach_team2 = Texas Mines (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1929–1941
| coach_team3 = Texas Mines
| coach_sport4 = Basketball
| coach_years5 = 1928–1934
| coach_team5 = Texas Mines
| coach_sport6 = Baseball
| coach_years7 = 1928, 1930
| coach_team7 = Texas Mines
| admin_years1 = 1929–1941
| admin_team1 = Texas Mines
| overall_record = 66–43–9 (football)
34–61 (basketball)
17–4 (baseball)
| bowl_record = 0–1
| tournament_record =
| championships =
| awards = First-team All-SWC (1925, 1926)
| coaching_records =
}}
Mack Saxon Sr. (November 21, 1901 – May 8, 1949) was an American football and baseball player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track, and athletic administrator.
A Texas native, Saxon was the quarterback of the 1925 and 1926 Texas Longhorns football teams and was selected as an all-conference player in both seasons.{{cite web |title=Texas Football History and Honors |url=https://texaslonghorns.com/documents/2024/8/8/Football_History___Honors.pdf |access-date=5 February 2025}}
From 1927 to 1941, he served as athletic director and coach at Texas School of Mines (now known as the University of Texas El Paso). He coached the school's football, baseball, basketball, and track teams at various times. In 13 years as the head football coach, he turned the program into a regional power, oversaw the construction of Kidd Field, led the team to its first bowl game, and compiled a 66–43–9 record.
Saxon served in the United States Navy during World War II, supervising an athletic training program for naval flyers. He continued that work as a civilian employee of the Navy after the war before dying of a heart attack at age 47.
Early life
Saxon was born in 1901 in Palestine, Texas, and attended Temple High School in Temple, Texas.{{cite news|title=Temple Youth Longhorn Hope|newspaper=The Austin American|date=October 4, 1925|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26932490/temple_youth_longhorn_hope/|via=Newspapers.com}} He initially attended Austin College in Sherman, Texas, before transferring to the University of Texas. At Texas, he was quarterback of the school's football team during the 1925 and 1926 seasons. He was selected as both the team captain and the most valuable player on the 1926 Texas Longhorns football team.{{cite news|title=Saxon Recognized as Most Valuable Player|newspaper=The Austin American|date=November 29, 1926|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26932184/saxon_recognized_as_mvp/|via=Newspapers.com}} At the end of the 1926 season, he was also selected as the most valuable player, best blocker, best defensive player, and best strategist in the Southwest Conference.{{cite news|title=All-Southwestern Conference Football Elevens For 1926 Are Chosen|newspaper=Sunday American-Statesman|date=November 28, 1926|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26932714/allsouthwestern_conference_football/|via=Newspapers.com}}
Saxon also played professional baseball as a catcher for two years. He played for the Tyler Trojans in 1927 and for the Palestine Pals in 1927 and 1928.{{cite web|title=Mack Saxon Minor League Statistics|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=January 5, 2010|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=saxon-001---}}
Coaching career
In 1927, the Texas School of Mines hired E. J. Stewart, who had coached Saxon at Texas, as the school's new head football coach. Saxon joined Stewart in September 1927 as an assistant coach at Texas Mines.{{cite news|title=Stewart Brings Saxon to Help Coach Miners' Team|newspaper=El Paso Post|date=September 5, 1927|page=10|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26933804/stewart_brings_saxon_to_help_coach/|via=Newspapers.com}} In December 1927, Saxon (at age 26) was named Texas Mines' new athletic director, retained his role as assistant football coach, and was also given responsibility to coach the track and baseball teams.{{cite news|title=Mack Saxon Succeeds 'Doc' as Miner Coach|newspaper=Sunday American-Statesman|date=December 11, 1927|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26934049/mack_saxon_succeeds_doc_as_miner_coach/|via=Newspapers.com}} He also coached the basketball team beginning in 1928.
Stewart retired as the head football coach after the 1928 season, and Saxon was chosen to replace him.{{cite news|title=Miners May Play Texas University In Football Next Fall|newspaper=El Paso Evening Post|date=November 29, 1928|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26934497/miners_play_texas_university_in/|via=Newspapers.com}} Prior to Saxon taking over as head coach, Texas Mines had only four winning seasons in program history and only one season with a record more than one game above .500.{{cite web|title=2014 UTEP Media Guide|year=2014|publisher=University of Texas at El Paso|page=175|url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utep/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/2014_FBMediaGuide.pdf}} Saxon immediately turned the program around, leading his teams to records of 6–1–2 in 1929, 7–1–1 in 1930, 7–1 in 1931, and 7–3 in 1932.
The popularity of the football program grew under Saxon's leadership, leading to the construction of Kidd Field. In 1935, he served as co-coach of the El Paso All-Stars in the first Sun Bowl game. In 1936, Saxon led his team to a 5–2–1 record in the regular season and a berth in the Sun Bowl game. He followed in 1937 with a 7–1–2 season.
After the 1941 season, Saxon resigned his positions at Texas Mines.{{cite news|title=Jack Curtice, West Texas State Coach, To Replace Mack Saxon At College of Mines|newspaper=The Odessa American|date=January 9, 1942|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26935423/jack_curtice_west_texas_state_coach/|via=Newspapers.com}} In 13 seasons as head coach, Saxon's football teams compiled a 66–43–9 record. As coach of the basketball team from 1928 to 1934, he tallied a mark of 34–61. He also coached the school's baseball team in 1928 and 1930, compiling a 17–4 record.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
Military service, family and later years
In May 1941, with the United States at war, Saxon was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Navy.{{cite news|title=Mack Saxon Commissioned By U. S. Navy|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=May 10, 1942|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26935747/mack_saxon_commissioned_by_u_s_navy/|via=Newspapers.com}} In September 1942, he was placed in charge of the physical fitness program at the Banana River Naval Air Station in Florida.{{cite news|title=Lt. Saxon Now Trains Flyers|newspaper=Valley Evening Monitor|date=September 29, 1942|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26936011/lt_saxon_now_trains_flyers/|via=Newspapers.com}} He left active duty in 1945 with the rank of commander.{{cite news|title=Ex-Grid Star At UT Dies|newspaper=The Austin Statesman|date=May 9, 1949|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26936941/exgrid_star_at_ut_dies/|via=Newspapers.com}} After the war, Saxon remained affiliated with the Navy as a civilian employee in charge of the athletics training program.{{cite news|title=The Brownsville Herald|date=September 21, 1947|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26936468/us_navy_is_almost_texas_affair/|via=Newspapers.com}}
On June 1, 1934, Saxon was married to Mary Hilton, the former wife of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, soon after she and Conrad divorced earlier the same year.{{cite book|title=The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty|author=J. Randy Taraborrelli|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|year=2014|url=https://archive.org/details/hiltonstruestory0000tara|url-access=registration}}
In May 1949, Saxon died at age 47 of a heart attack at his home in Arlington, Virginia.{{cite news |title=Mack Saxon, Trained Aviators in Navy, 47 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/05/10/archives/ack-saxon-trane-aviators-in-navy-4z.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 10, 1949 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=February 10, 2011}}{{cite news|title=Mack Saxon, Former Mines Coach, Dies|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=May 9, 1949|pages=1–2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26936780/mack_saxon_former_mines_coach_dies/|via=Newspapers.com}} He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.{{cite web | url = https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgVzYXhvbhIEbWFjaw--/ | accessdate = March 19, 2023 | website = ANC Explorer | title = Burial detail: Saxon, Mack }}
Head coaching record
=Football=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Texas Mines Miners
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1929
| endyear = 1934
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1929
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 6–1–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1930
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 7–1–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1931
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 7–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1932
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 7–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1933
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 3–5–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1934
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 4–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Texas Mines Miners
| conf = Border Conference
| startyear = 1935
| endyear = 1941
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1935
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 1–8
| conference = 0–3
| confstanding = 7th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1936
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 5–3–1
| conference = 2–1–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname = Sun
| bowloutcome = L
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1937
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 7–1–2
| conference = 2–1–1
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1938
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 6–3
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1939
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 5–4
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1940
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 4–4–1
| conference = 3–1–1
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1941
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 5–4–1
| conference = 3–4
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Texas Mines
| overall = 66–43–9
| confrecord = 16–14–3
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 66–43–9
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
| legend = no
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Texas Longhorns quarterback navbox}}
{{UTEP Miners basketball coach navbox}}
{{UTEP Miners football coach navbox}}
{{UTEP Miners and Lady Miners athletic director navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxon, Mack}}
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:Basketball coaches from Texas
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Sportspeople from Palestine, Texas
Category:Texas Longhorns football players
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:UTEP Miners athletic directors
Category:UTEP Miners baseball coaches
Category:UTEP Miners men's basketball coaches