University of North Texas Athletics
UNT Golf Great Granger Passes Away
4/15/2020 10:17:00 AM | Men's Golf
FORT WORTH – Former North Texas men's golfer John Granger passed away on Saturday at the age of 68.
Granger was a standout golfer at Fort Worth Southwest High School before becoming the only player in UNT program history to earn All-America status four times – honorable mention from 1971-73 and third-team in 1974.
As a freshman in 1971, Granger won the individual championship at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, and he helped lead the team to conference tournament championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He also led the team to the NCAA tournament in all four of his years in the program. Granger lost in a playoff for the individual conference title in 1972.
In 1973, Granger was ill for the conference tournament and the team finished second behind host New Mexico State. That year, he led North Texas to a 13th-place finish at the NCAA tournament and finished 39th individually. In 1974, the team again placed 13th, while Granger finished 30th. As a junior, Granger was invited to play in The Colonial as one of two amateurs in the tournament along with future PGA Tour legend Ben Crenshaw, who was a golfer at the University of Texas, and with whom Granger had fierce battles on the course with in both high school and collegiate competitions. Granger later became a member of Colonial Country Club in his hometown.
In 1974, Granger led the team to a win at the prestigious All-American in Houston, where North Texas beat Florida in the match-play final.
Granger was inducted into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Granger came to North Texas in Fall 1970 as one of two freshmen in the men's golf recruiting class along with Mike Craven, who was his roommate as a freshman and had recently organized golf trips for Granger and their former teammates Doug Higgins and Don Robertson. Craven and Granger also enjoyed playing in a makeshift "reunion tour," organized by a former SMU golfer, that held a couple of events per year for former Texas college golfers from that era.
"He was the fiercest competitor I ever knew," Craven said. "It wouldn't make any difference what you were playing – he was entirely focused on beating you. It didn't matter if we were out practicing for the day or he was playing in a college tournament. He was totally focused on winning and he had a hard time accepting anything else but that."
Craven recalled a trip he organized a couple of years ago for himself and his three former teammates to one of Canada's most prestigious golf clubs – Redtail Golf Club in Ontario, which boasts members such as Wayne Gretzky.
He said there was a member who played golf collegiately in the United States and had his All-American plaque on the wall in the lounge, and the man was showing it to his group. Craven chuckled when recalling Granger's response.
"We stayed for a few days and had a huge time and I have some great memories from that trip," Craven said. "Anyway, that guy was talking about his plaque, and John said, 'Hey, that's pretty cool. I have four of those.'"
UNT coach Brad Stracke said he enjoyed his times around Granger, specifically when he came back a couple of years ago to play a program fundraiser at Maridoe Golf Club.
"Fortunately, I was able to meet John and his teammates when they played in our fundraiser at Maridoe," Stracke said. "Their group won the event and all of them could still flat out play the game of golf. From the Mean Green golf family, John will be missed.
"He was a great gentleman," Stracke added. "He did incredible things for this program being the only four-time All-American from UNT."
Granger and his wife, Jan, reside in Fort Worth, and Granger had two children from a previous marriage with his former wife, Karyn. His daughter, Amy, has four children, and his son, Bart, was killed in a car accident in 1997, shortly after he'd led his Fort Worth Paschal team to 15-stroke victory in what was then known as the Dr Pepper/Paschal Invitational. He was one of the top high school golfers in the state at the time for Paschal, and now one of the most well-known high school tournaments in the state, the Bart Granger Invitational, is still held every year in Fort Worth and carries his name. John Granger always took great pride in presenting the trophy to the winning team.
Granger was a standout golfer at Fort Worth Southwest High School before becoming the only player in UNT program history to earn All-America status four times – honorable mention from 1971-73 and third-team in 1974.
As a freshman in 1971, Granger won the individual championship at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, and he helped lead the team to conference tournament championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He also led the team to the NCAA tournament in all four of his years in the program. Granger lost in a playoff for the individual conference title in 1972.
In 1973, Granger was ill for the conference tournament and the team finished second behind host New Mexico State. That year, he led North Texas to a 13th-place finish at the NCAA tournament and finished 39th individually. In 1974, the team again placed 13th, while Granger finished 30th. As a junior, Granger was invited to play in The Colonial as one of two amateurs in the tournament along with future PGA Tour legend Ben Crenshaw, who was a golfer at the University of Texas, and with whom Granger had fierce battles on the course with in both high school and collegiate competitions. Granger later became a member of Colonial Country Club in his hometown.
In 1974, Granger led the team to a win at the prestigious All-American in Houston, where North Texas beat Florida in the match-play final.
Granger was inducted into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Granger came to North Texas in Fall 1970 as one of two freshmen in the men's golf recruiting class along with Mike Craven, who was his roommate as a freshman and had recently organized golf trips for Granger and their former teammates Doug Higgins and Don Robertson. Craven and Granger also enjoyed playing in a makeshift "reunion tour," organized by a former SMU golfer, that held a couple of events per year for former Texas college golfers from that era.
"He was the fiercest competitor I ever knew," Craven said. "It wouldn't make any difference what you were playing – he was entirely focused on beating you. It didn't matter if we were out practicing for the day or he was playing in a college tournament. He was totally focused on winning and he had a hard time accepting anything else but that."
Craven recalled a trip he organized a couple of years ago for himself and his three former teammates to one of Canada's most prestigious golf clubs – Redtail Golf Club in Ontario, which boasts members such as Wayne Gretzky.
He said there was a member who played golf collegiately in the United States and had his All-American plaque on the wall in the lounge, and the man was showing it to his group. Craven chuckled when recalling Granger's response.
"We stayed for a few days and had a huge time and I have some great memories from that trip," Craven said. "Anyway, that guy was talking about his plaque, and John said, 'Hey, that's pretty cool. I have four of those.'"
UNT coach Brad Stracke said he enjoyed his times around Granger, specifically when he came back a couple of years ago to play a program fundraiser at Maridoe Golf Club.
"Fortunately, I was able to meet John and his teammates when they played in our fundraiser at Maridoe," Stracke said. "Their group won the event and all of them could still flat out play the game of golf. From the Mean Green golf family, John will be missed.
"He was a great gentleman," Stracke added. "He did incredible things for this program being the only four-time All-American from UNT."
Granger and his wife, Jan, reside in Fort Worth, and Granger had two children from a previous marriage with his former wife, Karyn. His daughter, Amy, has four children, and his son, Bart, was killed in a car accident in 1997, shortly after he'd led his Fort Worth Paschal team to 15-stroke victory in what was then known as the Dr Pepper/Paschal Invitational. He was one of the top high school golfers in the state at the time for Paschal, and now one of the most well-known high school tournaments in the state, the Bart Granger Invitational, is still held every year in Fort Worth and carries his name. John Granger always took great pride in presenting the trophy to the winning team.
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