Alumni Spotlight: John Malloy

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Which is a more difficult tryout to get through – auditioning to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune or attempting to make the famous 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team?

Miami University alumnus John Malloy ('80,'81) should know. He was in the mix for both.

But while Malloy didn't get picked by coach Herb Brooks for America's Team and ended up watching the 'Miracle on Ice' at home, he had far better luck this year when it came to America's Game.

Malloy, a captain on the first-ever varsity Miami Hockey team in 1978-79, recently appeared on the October 23 episode of Wheel of Fortune as part of the television show's Halloween-themed week. Although Malloy didn't advance to the bonus round, he did quite well for himself on the half-hour program, solving three puzzles to earn runner-up honors and take home an all-cash total of $11,950.

It was a successful end to an audition process that included seven different Zoom calls before Malloy finally learned he would make the trip to Los Angeles and share a stage with Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White.

"Honestly I was just so nervous to get a thousand dollars," Malloy said. "I knew there was going to be a lot of people watching, and the only thing I wanted to do was not embarrass myself too much. Except, I guess I bought an N!"

Malloy's joyous personality shone through on the screen, including the aforementioned moment where he offered to 'buy' a consonant which would in fact cost him nothing and earned him $600 per letter instead.

But that worked out fine for the Solon, Ohio resident, who used the four N's he received to solve a 'before-and-after' puzzle reading, 'THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT NURSE.'

Malloy also drew smiles from the other contestants and audience members when he used three seconds of allotted time for solving a puzzle to blurt out, 'Vanna is the best!' From his very first spin in the opening round, when he shouted, 'Here we go: Grandsons need some skates!', Malloy thoroughly enjoyed his experience.

Sporting a necktie with various multi-colored pumpkins in honor of the holiday, Malloy also got to talk about his connections to the spirit of Halloween, such as his 'Halloween royalty' relative (first cousin Linda Blair of 'Exorcist' fame) and his use of a Zamboni from the ice rink for annual trunk-or-treat celebrations.

Malloy's episode of Wheel was filmed in early September as part of a six-show taping day. He was thankful to share the experience with his wife Erin '80, who traveled to California to be in the audience.

"Wheel is my wife's thing, and there's the old saying, 'Happy wife, happy life!'," Malloy recounted later. "She had said, 'Sign up to be a contestant', and I said, 'Sure, why not?'

"I think my initial story probably got the producers' attention, since I had put that I was the winningest all-time [high school hockey] coach in Ohio and that I had tried out for the 1980 Olympic team."

Malloy, a longtime hockey coach at Gilmour Academy with more than 700 wins to his credit —and a 2019 inductee into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame— got his start in the coaching profession more than four decades ago after his playing career at Miami concluded. He had originally transferred from the University of Cincinnati to Miami because of hockey, and was part of the club team in Oxford for two years before Steve Cady led the Red and White to varsity status.

"I was a poor boy from Cincinnati, and my first-ever time on a plane was because of Miami Hockey," Malloy recalled, as the Red and White took trips to then-Czechoslovakia and Sweden during his time as a student-athlete.

"My main memories are the relationships that were built back then," said Malloy, a four-year captain. "We are still pretty close; in fact, I got so many comments from the group of all my old players and teammates 'harassing' me after the show aired.

"They were cheering me on, but at the same time —you know how teammates are— keeping me humble!"

Malloy's final two seasons of college hockey (the first years of the Miami varsity era) produced entries in the program's record book that have lived on even to today. One of 52 all-time 100-point scorers, the forward produced 111 points (38 goals and 73 assists) in 75 varsity games. He set single-game records on Dec. 15, 1978 with five points in a single period and six assists in one game. Malloy also holds the Miami single-season record for assists with 52.

"John was very talented: Tremendous skating skills and tremendous puck skills," Cady remembered. "With his size in that era, he was a big player, and yet he had the skating and stick skills that a lot of smaller players had.

"He was always very positive, regardless of what the situation was, so his teammates gravitated to him. [It's great to] be around quality people that are talented, coupled with being kind, compassionate and positive: I never heard John get down on anything…

"He's as generous and as kind a person as you could ever meet."

Once the varsity program was up and running, Miami added a new club hockey team, and the freshly-graduated Malloy became its first coach beginning with the 1980-81 season (serving as a graduate assistant while he worked on his Master's degree).

"Hockey gave me an opportunity that I wouldn't have had," Malloy said. "I had no idea about coaching. It wasn't even on my radar, but I'll tell you I fell in love with it. I coached that first team, and some of the guys I coached were guys I had played with the year before. I just had such a remarkable coaching experience, and I said, 'This is what I want to do.' From there, I changed my trajectory and went to teaching and coaching, and I've been doing that for 44 years…

"Building relationships is a huge part of why I coach. Winning and losing sort of takes care of itself. But being part of [my guys'] growth and development has been very rewarding for me."

"Coach Malloy truly embodies the spirit of 'The Brotherhood', sharing his love for Miami with everyone he meets," said current RedHawk forward Tanyon Bajzer, a Gilmour product. "His positivity is infectious, as he is one of the most enthusiastic individuals I know.

"Being one of Ohio's most decorated high school coaches, his legacy of success extends well beyond his time in the Red and White."

Now that the whirlwind of his television appearance is behind him, Malloy can focus on hockey again, while also deciding what to do with his winnings (or what's left of them after taxes).

"I just went out to [L.A.] knowing that I was going to get some money for flying out there. I went with the idea that it would be an experience," Malloy smiled. "I run a little charity that helps hockey players and programs in need who show they're willing to assist others, so I'll put some of that money into that.

"And then I'll probably do something for my three grandsons."

Well, of course. Because, after all, as you heard on television a few weeks ago…

"Grandsons need new skates!"

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Miami Hockey's 2024-25 season continues this weekend (Nov. 15-16) with a home conference series against Minnesota Duluth. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights at Steve "Coach" Cady Arena, and tickets are available now!

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