<P> McKay was born in West Virginia in the now - defunct town of Everettville in Monongalia County, where he was raised as a Roman Catholic . He was the third of five children born to Scots - Irish parents John and Gertrude McKay . His father was a coal mine superintendent who died when John was 13 years old . He grew up in Shinnston, and graduated from Shinnston High School in 1941 . Offered a football scholarship to Wake Forest, McKay was on campus enrolling when his widowed mother became ill . He returned home to West Virginia and worked as an electrician's assistant in a coal mine for a year, then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 . McKay served as a tailgunner aboard B - 29s and saw action in the Pacific Theatre during World War II . </P> <P> After the war, he entered college at Purdue University in 1946 at the age of 23, then transferred to the University of Oregon in 1947 . He played football at both schools . At Purdue, he was a halfback, alongside Bob DeMoss and Ed Cody . He split time with Ed Ehlers . His head coach was former NFL Champion Quarterback, Cecil Isbell . At Oregon, he was a halfback for the Ducks, alongside quarterback Norm Van Brocklin . The Ducks went 9--1 in the regular season in 1948, and were 7--0 in the Pacific Coast, co-champions with California . Because the two teams did not meet during the season, the bid to the 1949 Rose Bowl was decided by the university presidents, which went to Cal . Breaking with tradition, the PCC allowed the co-champions to also play in a bowl game . The Ducks accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, but were defeated 21--13 by hometown SMU . When Van Brocklin graduated and moved on to the NFL in 1949, McKay took over the Duck offense and called the audibles from his two - point stance as a running back . Without the future hall of famer, the Ducks slipped to 4--6 and 2--5 in the PCC . Without McKay on the field in 1950, Oregon was 1--9 and winless in conference, including shutouts by UCLA and lowly Idaho . The Ducks scored only 97 points all season and were kept under 10 points in half of their games . </P> <P> After graduation from Oregon in 1950, McKay decided to become a coach . He was an assistant for the Ducks for nine seasons, one under Jim Aiken and eight with Len Casanova, who arrived from the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 . Improving through the 1950s, the Ducks tied for the conference title in 1957 and played in the 1958 Rose Bowl . Following the 1958 season, McKay moved south to USC as an assistant under third - year head coach Don Clark . A notable member of the USC staff at this time was Al Davis, the offensive line coach . The Trojans were coming off two losing seasons, 1--9 in 1957 and 4--5--1 in 1958 . They won their first eight games in 1959, but lost to rivals UCLA and Notre Dame to conclude the season . After failing to defeat either of the two rivals in three years, Clark resigned . McKay was hired as the Trojans' head coach for the 1960 season . </P> <P> In his first two seasons as head coach, McKay's teams enjoyed little success, going 4--6 in 1960, and 4--5--1 in 1961 . The Trojans had been on probation and had difficulty recruiting; McKay stated that these two teams were the slowest he had ever been around . Heading into the 1962 season, McKay felt he might be fired by university president Norman Topping; alumni were pressuring Topping to fire McKay, but Topping resisted and gave McKay one more year so he could field a team with players he had recruited . Topping believed that McKay had recruited well and that the team would be successful . Topping proved to be correct . In 1962, McKay guided USC to an 11--0 record including a Rose Bowl victory over #2 - ranked Wisconsin, 42--37, and a national championship . USC won four national championships (1962, 1967, 1972, and 1974) during McKay's tenure as head coach, and the 1972 squad is regarded as one of the best teams in college football history . That team went 12--0, defeated five teams ranked 18th or higher by an average of 22 points . They never trailed in the second half of any game and their closest game was a nine - point win over Stanford . Players from that team included Mike Rae, Pat Haden, Sam Cunningham, Anthony Davis, Lynn Swann, Charle Young, Gary Jeter, Richard Wood and Charles Phillips . Two of his players, Mike Garrett (1965) and O.J. Simpson (1968), won the Heisman Trophy . McKay popularized the I formation, and emphasized a power running game with such plays as "Student Body Left" and "Student Body Right ." Through 2011, he remains the winningest head football coach in school history . </P>

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