MENDOTA - Ray Jauch has compiled a long list of accomplishments during his football playing and coaching careers. Now, long after those careers ended, perhaps the greatest accolade he could ever achieve has been bestowed upon him.

Twenty-nine years after he coached his last game in the Canadian Football League, Jauch will join the hallowed halls of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum as a member of the Class of 2024. The Mendota native got the call from a CFL representative back in March and the CFL made the official announcement of the Class of 2024 inductees on May 3.

“Undoubtedly this is a very elite group and I’m proud to be a part of it,” said Jauch. “It’s a great honor to be chosen to the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame and I appreciate it immensely.”

“The Class of 2024 has shaped our game beyond record books and accolades,” said CFHOF Executive Director Eric Noivo. “They are heroes to young football players and athletes. They are tremendous leaders who have shared their invaluable time and vast knowledge. And they are steadfast champions who helped expand our game to reach more people and more communities.”

After graduating from Mendota High School in 1956 and embarking on a highly successful four years as a member of the University of Iowa football team, Jauch was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, but he received a better offer to play for Bud Grant and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Jauch’s playing career was cut short, however, when during the Grey Cup in his second season, he tore an Achilles tendon. The Blue Bombers won the CFL championship, but it turned out to be Jauch’s last appearance in uniform.

“I knew I was going to get into coaching after I realized there was no way I could come back as a player,” Jauch said. “I tried to come back, but I wanted to be able to run around and play with my kids in the yard, so I hung it up and got into coaching.”

Jauch’s first coaching job in the CFL was in 1966 as an assistant coach for Neil Armstrong in Edmonton, a position he remained in for four years. When Armstrong left for the Minnesota Vikings in 1970, Jauch was named the head coach of the Eskimos (now the Elks) at the ripe young age of 30.

“I always admired Neil, and when I was named to take his position with Edmonton, it was a great honor and meant a lot to me,” Jauch said.

During eight seasons as the Edmonton sideline boss, Jauch guided the team to three Grey Cup appearances, winning the Super Bowl of the CFL in 1975.

“We had our ups and downs that year, and after losing our first two Grey Cup appearances in 1973 and 1974, it would’ve been tough to lose three in a row,” noted Jauch. “I remember the 1975 Grey Cup game in Calgary was one of the coldest days in Grey Cup history. Of course I wanted to win the game, but I remember saying under my breath, ‘I don’t care who wins, just get me out of here,’ it was so cold.”

After one more season in Edmonton, Jauch moved south and served as the head coach in Winnipeg from 1978-82, before he returned to the United States to coach in the USFL, the Arena Football League and in college. He returned to Canada in 1991 as an assistant coach with Saskatchewan and then was named head coach in 1994, a position he held for two years, coaching his last CFL game in 1995.

In 15 years as a head coach, Jauch amassed 127 regular season victories - ranking sixth all time - while guiding his teams to 11 playoff appearances. He captured one Grey Cup championship and was named CFL Coach of the Year twice (1970 and 1980).

Jauch moved back to his hometown Mendota in the late 1990s. He left Mendota to live in North Carolina near one of his sons, but returned to Mendota several years ago.

Jauch and the other members of the CFL Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be officially inducted in an evening ceremony on Friday, Sept. 13. The CFL Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the fourth floor of Tim Horton Field in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.