John Owsley Manier

John Owsley Manier (March 18, 1887 – September 1, 1956) was an American college football player and coach and physician. He played at Vanderbilt University as a Fullback from 1904 to 1906 and at the University of Pennsylvania in 1908 as a halfback. Manier was a third-team selection on the 1906 College Football All-America Team and was named to the College Football All-Southern Team in 1904, 1905, and 1906. After graduating from Penn with a medical degree, he return to Vanderbilt and an assistant medical professor and assistant football coach.

Early life J. Owsley Manier was born on March 18, 1887, in Nashville, Tennessee, to William R. Manier and Mary Owsley. In 1915, John Heisman said Vanderbilt's three greatest players ever were Manier, Ray Morrison, and Bob Blake.

1906 Manier scored five touchdowns against Alabama in a 78–0 victory and again ran for five touchdowns over Georgia Tech (37–6) in Atlanta. Atlanta Constitution sportswriter Alex Lynn wrote after the Georgia Tech game, Manier was "the greatest fullback and all round man ever seen in Atlanta." Manier played in the days before two platoons and so also played on defense. In the 33–0 win over Rose Polytechnic, in which again he scored five touchdowns, he also "probably prevented the visitors from scoring by his clever defensive work." Manier was the first Vanderbilt football player to be selected to an All-America team; selected third-team All-America by Walter Camp in 1906. This makes Manier the first Southern player to make any of Camp's teams.

University of Pennsylvania He received a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt, and his M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

1908 He played a bit on the Penn Quakers football team as well, in 1908, for he had a year of eligibility left. "But his effectiveness at Pennsylvania was lessened by the attempt of the coaches to change his style of bucking a line from the low, plunging dive to running into it erect, knees drawn high and great dependence upon his companion backs to "hike" him." At Penn he was shifted to halfback, and mostly used for swift plunges into the line. Penn defeated Michigan, exacting revenge for the multiple losses suffered by Manier to Michigan at Vanderbilt.

Coaching and medical practice After his time in Pennsylvania he returned to Vanderbilt as an assistant football coach and assistant medical professor. He practiced in Nashville and gave his spare time to the team. He accompanied the Vanderbilt hospital unit to Fort McPherson in 1917. In 1935 he was president of the Tennessee Medical Association.

Illness and death In 1948, Manier developed coronary thrombosis, as well as legions on his legs while vacationing in Norway in 1952. The Nashville Banner reported his death in 1956: "Vanderbilt University loved him, and no alma mater has been better served by an alumnus."