Legendary former Moeller football coach Gerry Faust dies, family announces

CINCINNATI — Gerry Faust, the legendary former Moeller High School coach who led the Crusaders to five state championships and four national titles, has died, his family announced on Monday. He was 89.

Faust, known fondly as "Fuzzy," spent 18 years as Moeller's head coach before leaving to coach at the University of Notre Dame. He finished with a record of 178-23-2, Moeller reported.

In a statement, Faust's family said that while so many know him as a coach, "we will long remember him as a wonderful father and grandfather who inspired us through example to live our best lives."

Both his family and Carl Kremer, Moeller's interim president, noted the importance of Faust's faith. Kremer said in a release Faust "embodied all that it means to be a Man of Moeller."

"He inspired his players to be men of faith and character who pursued academic excellence and pushed one another to succeed," Kremer said. "He believed in that brotherhood, and he defined it in how he lived."

Faust, a 2004 National High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee, was one of the best high school football coaches in the nation for two decades (1960-80) when he led Moeller to a 174-17-2 record. He was also Moeller's athletic director from 1964 to 1980.

Moeller won 12 Greater Catholic League championships, 10 city championships, eight regional titles and five state championships under Faust. He led Moeller to four mythical national championships. The team had seven undefeated seasons with Faust at the helm.

Former longtime Princeton coach Pat Mancuso said Tuesday afternoon he was saddened to learn about Faust's death.

"It's a tremendous loss," Mancuso said.

Princeton and Moeller have a storied rivalry that goes back decades with state championships including the time when Faust and Mancuso were the respective head coaches.

Mancuso said his phone was busy Tuesday with former Princeton players calling him to remember Faust.

"He was a good friend," said Mancuso, who turns 96 years old Thursday. "It was always a good, friendly, cordial relationship. I'm grateful that he and I crossed paths and that he came into my life."

Mancuso attended this year's season opener between Moeller and Princeton and was recognized during the coin toss with Faust's son, Gerry Faust Jr. Mancuso said he called the elder Faust at his Akron-area home a few days after that game and the two coaching legends had a conversation.

This Friday night, Princeton and Moeller play for a second time this season — this time in a Division I regional semifinal at Mason. Mancuso said he's looking forward to watching the game from home on TV.

Although there was a significant rivalry between Moeller and Princeton, Faust and Mancuso stayed in touch over the years.

Mancuso reflected upon his coaching days Tuesday and said he enjoyed playing cards and sharing a meal with several Cincinnati-area high school coaches years ago including Faust and the late Tom Ballaban (St. Xavier) and Bron Bacevich (Roger Bacon) among others.

The coaches were fierce competitors on the field, but good friends away from the game.

"He had a tremendous program there," Mancuso said. "We were a young and budding school at the same time. There was a great respect for each other among the players."

Faust coached 22 All-Americans and 39 All-Ohio players while being a six-time Ohio coach of the year, according to his National Federation of State High School Associations biography. He was a 12-time league coach of the year and two-time national coach of the year.

Faust’s final win at Moeller was the Crusaders’ 30-7 win over Massillon Washington in the 1980 Division I state championship game at Nippert Stadium. Moeller concluded that 1980 season with a 13-0 record. That season was the last time an Ohio High School Athletic Association football state final was held in Cincinnati.

A statue of Faust greets student-athletes, coaches and visitors to the Gerry Faust Athletic Complex behind the high school. Faust is a member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame and the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Mike Dyer/WCPO

"Gerry Faust had a deep appreciation of his Catholic faith and a great love for the Blessed Mother," a plaque beneath Faust's statue reads. "He gave of his time and boundless energy to help others both within and beyond the Moeller community. Coach Faust showed what it meant to be a 'Man of Moeller.'"

Faust was a three-year letterwinner as a quarterback at the University of Dayton.

He coached at the University of Notre Dame for five years (1981-85), including a 1983 Liberty Bowl victory and an Aloha Bowl appearance before stepping down at the end of the 1985 season.

Faust spent the next nine seasons (1986-94) as the University of Akron head coach. He was inducted into the Buddy LaRosa's High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. The 1976 Moeller football team — the school's first mythical national championship — was inducted into the hall in 2017.

"Gerry Faust was the catalyst who led Moeller High School to national prominence," the statue plaque reads. "He established the model for athletic excellence, which formed the foundation for Moeller athletic tradition."

In Moeller's release, former team captain Mike Suter recalled that Faust would take captains to pray the rosary on the steps leading to Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams.

"He’d say, 'You are the leaders of this team, and we are going to say the rosary together.' I still pray the steps on Good Friday, and I always think of Gerry Faust," Suter said.

His family said in their statement they know the impact Faust had on countless young men.

"His work ethic, optimism, leadership and humility were legendary," the statement says. "He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, compassion, and inspiration, reminding us all of the extraordinary impact one life can have."

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