Loras College Athletics

The late John Meyer's achievements go beyond the starting point of many programs' history books, but the 1931 graduate celebrated a decorated career while on the tennis team at Loras. He won the IIAC singles tournament three of his four years on the team. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and earned his master's degree in education from the University of Michigan thereafter. Between 1929 and graduating from Loras, Meyer, known as "Mr. Dubuque Tennis," won ten Dubuque City Singles Tournaments and the YMCA State Tournament in 1940. During the summers, Meyer taught tennis camps to more than 5,000 children through the city's recreation department. Meyer embraced his passion for education and tennis, teaching social studies and coaching tennis from 1937 until his passing in 1971 at Dubuque Senior High School and was inducted into the high school's Hall of Fame in 1997 after leading the Rams to multiple state finishes and establishing tennis as the school's first major sport. In 2008, Dubuque Senior honored the former coach and teacher, renaming the tennis courts the Johnny Meyer Tennis Courts.