COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - In the late 1940s, Murnane "Red" Maenhout was a big man on campus at Saint John's University – literally and figuratively.
 
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Marshall (Minn.) High School graduate was a standout in both football and basketball for the Johnnies, and also won an MIAC title in the shot put in the spring of 1947 before finishing second the following year.
 
On the football field, he rebounded from a knee injury that kept him out the 1947 season to earn All-MIAC first-team honors as a senior in 1948.
 
"An all-around athlete at SJU, Maenhout is recognized as the Number One defensive flanker in the state," read an article in the St. Cloud Times. "And (he's) also established a high rating on offense."
 
Maenhout's size and skills drew the attention of pro scouts from both the NFL and its upstart rival, the All-American Football Conference (which later merged with the more established league, bringing the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts into the NFL).
 
Maenhout became the first SJU player selected in the NFL Draft when the New York Bulldogs (who later became the New York Yanks before folding following the 1951 season) selected him with the second pick of the 12th round in the 1949 draft (actually held on Dec. 21, 1948 in Philadelphia).
 
He was selected three picks before the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Jim Finks (who went on to a Hall of Fame career in the front office with the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints) and six picks before the Bears selected future Hall of Fame quarterback and kicker George Blanda.
 
But Maenhout chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFL, a team that played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and whose ownership group featured Hollywood stars Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Don Ameche. The signing was announced on Jan. 16, 1949, 75 years ago today. 
 
Maenhout went to training camp with the team that summer, seeing action in a scrimmage. But according to a 1957 article in the St. Cloud Times, he was forced out of action by an injury before the regular season got underway.
 
"He was such a quiet and humble guy," said Mark Maenhout, one of his seven children who himself went on to play Division I football at Washington State in the 1970s. "We knew he'd been a great athlete at Saint John's. But he never talked about any of that stuff. 
 
"I do remember having an old Los Angeles Dons t-shirt of his when I was a kid. I'm not sure what ended up happening to that."
 
Mark Maenhout said his father's path to Saint John's was not easy.
 
"His own father died when he was 11, which left his mom alone with he and his two sisters," Mark Maenhout said. "He had to start working at an early age to help support the family. 
 
"I think that's part of what he enjoyed most about his time at Saint John's. He was finally able to breathe a bit there and enjoy a sense of peace. He could focus on his classes and sports."
 
Maenhout helped lead Marshall to a runner-up finish at the 1942 Minnesota state high school basketball tournament before enrolling in Collegeville that fall. But his time on campus was interrupted by World War II. 
 
He went into military service, serving as an engineer under combat conditions with the Army in Europe, before finally returning to SJU in 1946.
 
"He was brilliant guy," Mark Maenhout said. "He could handle just about any situation you threw at him. So I don't think it was surprising at all that he was really successful (at Saint John's)."
 
When pro football didn't work out, Maenhout embarked on a teaching career in Luverne, Minn., where he met his wife, Florence. She had family in Tacoma, Wash., which is where the couple settled in 1951.
 
There, Maenhout went on to a long teaching and coaching career – most notably at Wilson High School (now known as Dr. Dolores Silas High School), where he coached football and track and later served as athletic director before retiring in 1981. He also worked alongside his sons as a custom home builder.
 
He died at 94 in September of 2018.
 
"He had a very full life," Mark Maenhout said. "He was able to do a lot of great things."
 
But through it all, his son said, he always retained a fondness for alma mater.
 
"He loved Saint John's and he loved the Johnnies," Mark said. "He and my mom would go back there often. He'd bring us Saint John's stuff. In fact, my son-in-law still has a Johnnie hat he brought back about 15 years ago and wears it to work every day.
 
"It was clear he considered Saint John's a really special place."

30 years ago (1994)
Rick Schneckenberger, a junior from Osseo, won the 167-pound weight class and improved to 16-1 on the season to lead the Johnnie wrestling team in competition at the Cougar Invitational on Jan. 15 at Minnesota-Morris.

35 years ago (1989)
Dan Vogel came off the bench to score 26 points as the SJU basketball team rallied from 19 points down in the second half to defeat Bethel 104-97 in overtime on Jan. 21 in Arden Hills.
 
40 years ago (1984)
Tom Kubinski won the 100 freestyle and finished second in the 50 freestyle to lead the Johnnies swim team in competition at the Saint John's Invitational on Jan. 21 in the Warner Palaestra Pool.