University of Detroit Mercy lost one of its greatest student-athletes as Titan Hall of Famer and two-sport standout Bruce Maher ’60Â entered eternal life on July 6 at his home in Wauwatosa, Wisc., at the age of 80. Maher had battled cancer for nearly 20 years.
Maher starred in football and baseball at University of Detroit from 1958-60 before playing minor league baseball and then embarking on a 10-year career in the NFL.
He led the Titans in rushing in his junior (576 yards) and senior year (595 yards) as well as scoring (42/66 points) and in receiving yards (295) as a junior.
Maher earned All-Catholic All-American in 1958 and 1959 and played in the 1960 College Football All-Star Game at Soldier Field in Chicago. He was inducted into the University of Detroit Hall of Fame in 1979.
On the diamond as a catcher, he was a .394 hitter who left as the program’s career leader in batting average and slugging percentage (.627). He led the nation with 44 RBI in 1960 and helped the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 1959 and 1960 under the guidance of legendary head coach Lloyd Brazil.
He was drafted in the 15th round of the National Football League in 1959 and spent eight seasons with the Detroit Lions (1960-1967) before finishing his career with the New York Giants (1968-1969). He was named NFL team MVP for the Lions in 1965 and for the Giants in 1968. As a pro, he played in 136 career games and tallied 22 interceptions, recovered four fumbles and posted three safeties.
After his rookie season with the Lions in 1960, he played a year of minor league baseball for the Detroit Tigers Class B affiliate in Durham, North Carolina.
As a prep at University of Detroit Jesuit, he was tabbed Detroit News First Team All-City and Detroit Free Press First Team All-State in football and was inducted into that school’s Hall of Fame in 2015.
After his career was over, he co-founded the largest privately owned telecommunications company in Wisconsin in the early 1980s. He was a sportsman his whole life, enjoyed playing golf and also played in annual Gus Macker basketball tournaments with his sons.
He is survived by his wife, Gerda Marie Maher, six children: Sheila (Francis), John (Kelly), Sharon Lee, Luke (Marie), Matthew (Elizabeth) and Jesalyn (Jared), and 13 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Friday, Aug. 3, at Gesu Catholic Church in Milwaukee.
