WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 1999

Written by Shelly Poe

A four-year letterwinner, the late Walter "Red" Mahan did not experience a loss until midway through his sophomore season as a Mountaineer.

In fact, Mahan was part of a Mountaineer dynasty that lost only three contests over a four-year span by a combined 20 points.

A right guard from Follansbee, W.Va., Mahan helped the team to a 10-0-1 record in 1922, which earned the Mountaineers a trip to their first ever bowl game.

The Mountaineers took on Gonzaga in the East-West Bowl on December 22, 1922, in San Diego, California. WVU built a 21-0 lead after three quarters and went on to win by a final of 21-13, in the only bowl appearance for a Mountaineer squad that decade.

Mahan was part of the 1924 Mountaineer squad that posted an 8-1 overall record in Coach Clarence Spears’ final season as head coach. The Mountaineers totaled 302 points in nine contests, the most of any Eastern squad, and outscored the opposition by nearly a seven-to-one margin.

Following his stellar junior year, Mahan was a first team All-America pick by Midweek Pictorial and Metropolitan News. Additionally, Mahan was named as a third team All-America right guard by Walter Camp, and was selected to the all-Eastern team.

In 1925, Mahan captained the squad as a senior as the Mountaineers again put together an 8-1 mark. Mahan is also a member of the WVU all-time team for 1919-29.

Mahan went on to a successful career as a prosecuting attorney in Brooke County, W.Va. He died in 1990.