Prior to his NHL career, Bauer won the Memorial Cup with the St. Michael's Majors in 1934 as junior champions of Canada. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and won the Allan Cup with the Ottawa RCAF Flyers as senior champions that year. Bauer turned to coaching following his NHL career and guided the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen to two Allan Cup championships. The Dutchmen were sent to represent Canada at the 1956 Winter Olympics where Bauer coached the team to a bronze medal. He also coached the Canadian entry at the 1960 Winter Olympics that won a silver medal. Bauer assisted his brother David in creating the Canadian national hockey team in the 1960s. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.