John Dobson Lawther (September 19, 1899 – September 21, 1996) was an American football and basketball coach and professor. He was the head basketball coach of Westminster College from 1925 to 1930 and again from 1931 to 1936 and Pennsylvania State University from 1936 to 1949. Lawther guided Penn State to an appearance in the 1942 NCAA basketball tournament. After leaving coaching, Lawther became a professor and athletic administrator at Penn State and became a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.

John Lawther
Biographical details
Born(1899-09-19)September 19, 1899
Died(1996-09-21)September 21, 1996
Southern Pines, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materWestminster (PA)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1926–1929Westminster (PA) (assistant)
1931–1933Westminster (PA)
Basketball
1925–1930Westminster (PA)
1931–1935Westminster (PA)
1936–1949Penn State
Head coaching record
Overall9–18 (football)
313–136 (basketball)
TournamentsBasketball
1–1 (NCAA)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
NAIA Hall of Fame
Helms Foundation Hall of Fame

Lawther was an alumnus of Westminster College and earned a master's degree from Columbia University.[1]

Head coaching record

edit

Football

edit
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Westminster Titans (Tri-State Conference) (1931–1933)
1931 Westminster 3–6 0–3 5th
1932 Westminster 4–6 2–2 3rd
1933 Westminster 2–6 1–2 4th
Westminster: 9–18 3–7
Total: 9–18

Basketball

edit
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Westminster Titans (Independent) (1925–1930)
1925–26 Westminster 1–10[n 1] 0–0[n 1]
1926–27 Westminster 12–5
1927–28 Westminster 17–3
1928–29 Westminster 15–2
1929–30 Westminster 19–2
Westminster Titans (Independent) (1931–1936)
1931–32 Westminster 19–2
1932–33 Westminster 19–6
1933–34 Westminster 22–4
1934–35 Westminster 19–3
1934–35 Westminster 20–6
Westminster: 163–43 (.791)
Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern Intercollegiate Conference) (1936–1939)
1936–37 Penn State 10–7 6–4 3rd
1937–38 Penn State 13–5 6–4 2nd
1938–39 Penn State 13–10 5–5 T–3rd
Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1939–1949)
1939–40 Penn State 15–8
1940–41 Penn State 15–5
1941–42 Penn State 18–3 NCAA Regional Third Place
1942–43 Penn State 15–4
1943–44 Penn State 8–7
1944–45 Penn State 10–7
1945–46 Penn State 7–9
1946–47 Penn State 10–8
1947–48 Penn State 9–10
1948–49 Penn State 7–10
Penn State: 150–93 (.617) 17–13 (.567)
Total: 313–136 (.697)

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b E. Dwight Dyer coached the first two games of the 1925–26 season before Lawther took over as head coach. Westminster finished the year with an overall record of 2–11.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ "John D. Lawther papers, 1936-1971". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "Westminster Men's Basketball Record Book Through The 2018–19 Season" (PDF). Westminster College. 2019. pp. 5–6. Retrieved December 22, 2020.