Don James (American football)
James in 2013 | |
Sport(s) | Football |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born |
Massillon, Ohio | December 31, 1932
Died |
October 20, 2013 80) Kirkland, Washington | (aged
Playing career | |
1951–1953 | Miami (FL) |
Position(s) | Quarterback, defensive back |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1956–1957 | Kansas (GA) |
1958 | Southwest Miami HS (FL) |
1959–1961 | Florida State (DB) |
1962–1965 | Florida State (DC) |
1966–1967 | Michigan (DC) |
1968–1970 | Colorado (DC) |
1971–1974 | Kent State |
1975–1992 | Washington |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 178–76–3 (college) |
Bowls | 10–5 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 National (1991) 1 MAC (1972) 6 Pac-8/Pac-10 (1977, 1980–1981, 1990–1992) | |
Awards | |
AFCA Coach of the Year (1977) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1991) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1991) George Munger Award (1991) Sporting News College Football COY (1991) MAC Coach of the Year (1972) 3x Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1980, 1990–1991) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1997 (profile) |
Donald Earl James (December 31, 1932 – October 20, 2013) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Kent State University from 1971 to 1974 and at the University of Washington from 1975 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 178–76–3. His 1991 Washington team won a share of the national championship after completing a 12–0 season with a win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. James was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1997.
Early years
James was born in 1932 at his family's home on the outskirts of Massillon, Ohio.[1] He was the fourth of five boys. Four of the five boys played football, and his oldest brother, Tommy James, was a star player on the 1942 Ohio State national championship team who also played professional football from 1947 to 1956.
James attended Massillon Washington High School where he played quarterback for the football team in 1948 and 1949 and graduated in 1950.[1]
College football and military service
James attended the University of Miami on a football scholarship. He was the quarterback for the 1952 and 1953 Miami Hurricanes football teams. He set Miami single-season records for completions (121), yards (1,363), and completion percentage (56.9%).[2] He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1954.
He was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Army.
James was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.[3]
Coaching career
Assistant coaching positions
James was graduate assistant for the Jayhawks at the University of Kansas under his former high school coach, Chuck Mather, and received a master's degree in education. He coached high school football in Florida at Southwest Miami High School in 1959, then was a college assistant coach for 12 seasons at Florida State, Michigan, and Colorado.
Kent State
In 1971, James became the head coach at Kent State in Ohio, where he compiled a 25–19–1 record (.556) in four years. There he coached future NFL great Jack Lambert, current college head coach Nick Saban of Alabama, and former head coach Gary Pinkel of Missouri. During his tenure at Kent, the Golden Flashes won their only Mid-American Conference title, in 1972, and played in their first bowl game, the 1972 Tangerine Bowl.[4]
Washington
In December 1974, Don James was hired by University of Washington (UW) athletic director Joseph Kearney to succeed Jim Owens as head coach of the Washington Huskies football team.
James served in this capacity for 18 seasons, from 1975 to 1992. He led the Huskies to a national championship in 1991. During his tenure at Washington, James' teams won four Rose Bowls, the Orange Bowl in January 1985, and compiled a record of 10–5 in all bowl games. Overall, James tallied a 153–57–2 mark for a winning percentage of .722 at Washington, including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. Washington won 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992.[5] James won national college coach of the year honors in 1977, 1984, and 1991. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
During the 1992 season, it was revealed that several Huskies players had received improper benefits. Among them, starting quarterback Billy Joe Hobert had received a series of loans totaling $50,000 made by a friend's father-in-law.[6] While it was later determined the loan was neither an NCAA violation nor an institutional violation, this was the first in a series of reports by the Seattle Times and Los Angeles Times that initiated Pacific-10 Conference and NCAA investigations.[7][8][9] These led to charges that Washington exhibited "lack of institutional control" over its handling of recruiting funds for on-campus visits and a Los Angeles booster summer jobs program.[10] The Huskies received sanctions from both the NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference. Though notably James and the coaching staff were not specifically cited as having broken any rules, James resigned from his head coaching position on August 22, 1993, in protest of what were considered unfair sanctions against his team for minor, unsubstantiated, or fabricated infractions.[11] James later clarified he was protesting what was a betrayal by then University President William Gerberding.[12] Though he and then Athletic Director Barbara Hedges had presented James the final list of penalties that all Pac-10 parties had agreed best for the football program and athletics, Gerberding argued in favor of altering the penalties against the program from a two-year TV revenue ban and one-year bowl ban, to a one-year TV revenue ban and two-year bowl ban.[13][14][15][16][17]
In a 2006 interview with columnist Blaine Newnham of The Seattle Times, Don James said his resignation from head coaching "probably saved his life".[18] In October 2017, the University of Washington unveiled a bronze statue of James in the northwest plaza of Husky Stadium.[19]
Family and later years
In August 1952, James married his high school sweetheart, Carol Hoobler. Hoobler was a Massillon native who followed James to Miami where she became a cheerleader.[20][21] They were married in August 1952 and had three children, Jeff, Jill, and Jeni.[2]
James died of pancreatic cancer at his Kirkland residence in 2013 at age 80.[22]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (1971–1974) | |||||||||
1971 | Kent State | 3–8 | 0–5 | 6th | |||||
1972 | Kent State | 6–5–1 | 4–1 | 1st | L Tangerine | ||||
1973 | Kent State | 9–2 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
1974 | Kent State | 7–4 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
Kent State: | 25–19–1 | 10–10 | |||||||
Washington Huskies (Pacific-8/Pacific-10 Conference) (1975–1992) | |||||||||
1975 | Washington | 6–5 | 5–2 | T–3rd | |||||
1976 | Washington | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
1977 | Washington | 8–4 | 6–1 | 1st | W Rose | 9 | 10 | ||
1978 | Washington | 7–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
1979 | Washington | 9–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | W Sun | 11 | 11 | ||
1980 | Washington | 9–3 | 6–1 | 1st | L Rose | 17 | 16 | ||
1981 | Washington | 10–2 | 6–2 | 1st | W Rose | 7 | 10 | ||
1982 | Washington | 10–2 | 6–2 | 2nd | W Aloha | 7 | 7 | ||
1983 | Washington | 8–4 | 5–2 | 2nd | L Aloha | ||||
1984 | Washington | 11–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | W Orange | 2 | 2 | ||
1985 | Washington | 7–5 | 5–3 | T–4th | W Freedom | ||||
1986 | Washington | 8–3–1 | 5–2–1 | T–2nd | L Sun | 17 | 18 | ||
1987 | Washington | 7–4–1 | 4–3–1 | T–2nd | W Independence | ||||
1988 | Washington | 6–5 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
1989 | Washington | 8–4 | 5–3 | T–2nd | W Freedom | 20 | 23 | ||
1990 | Washington | 10–2 | 7–1 | 1st | W Rose | 5 | 5 | ||
1991 | Washington | 12–0 | 8–0 | 1st | W Rose | 1 | 2 | ||
1992 | Washington | 9–3 | 6–2 | T–1st | L Rose | 10 | 11 | ||
Washington: | 153–57–2 | 97–38–2 | |||||||
Total: | 178–76–3 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
|
Coaching tree
Assistant coaches under Don James who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
- Keith Gilbertson: Idaho (1986–1988), California (1992–1995), Washington (2003–2004)
- Jim Heacock: Illinois State (1988–1995)
- Jim Lambright: Washington (1993–1998)
- Jim L. Mora: Atlanta Falcons (2004–2006), Seattle Seahawks (2009), UCLA (2012–2017)
- Gary Pinkel: Toledo (1991–2000), Missouri (2001–2015)
- Nick Saban: Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-1999), LSU (2000-2004), Miami Dolphins (2005-2006), Alabama (2007-present)
- Matt Simon: North Texas (1994–1997)
- Chris Tormey: Idaho (1995–1999), Nevada (2000–2004)
- Jeff Woodruff: Eastern Michigan (2000–2003)
See also
Further reading
References
- 1 2 Gregg Patton (December 25, 1981). "Don James: Born to be a football coach". The Sun. pp. F1, F7 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Miami Mourns Loss of Don James". University of Miami. October 20, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ↑ "Don James". University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ↑ Kent State Game by Game Results Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Washington Game by Game Results Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Les Carpenter, Billy Joe Hobert: Villain, hero? Debate rages, Seattle Times, June 20, 2002, accessed January 2, 2012.
- ↑ Musser, Mark (December 3, 2017). "The Leaven of Political Football". American Thinker | americanthinker.com.
- ↑ Johnson, Derek (2007). Husky Football in the Don James Era. Derek Johnson Books. ISBN 978-0979327100.
- ↑ Carpenter, Les (June 20, 2002). "Billy Joe Hobert: Villain, hero? Debate rages". The Seattle Times | seattletimes.com.
- ↑ Tom Farrey, No Bowl Play For Huskies, Pac-10 Decides -- Penalties Beyond 1- Year Ban Possible; Ratification Vote Today, Seattle Times, August 22, 1993, accessed January 2, 2012.
- ↑ Caldwell, Phil (January 21, 2011). "USC Sanctions: Unjust Penalties Against UW a Decade Ago Might Force NCAA's Hand". Bleacher Report | bleacherreport.com.
- ↑ Musser, Mark (December 3, 2017). "The Leaven of Political Football". American Thinker.
- ↑ Johnson, Derek (2007). Husky Football in the Don James Era. https://www.amazon.com/Husky-Football-Don-James-Era/dp/0979327105. ISBN 9780979327100.
- ↑ "The Betrayal of Don James". UW Dawg Pound | uwdawgpound.
- ↑ Munson, Carl (December 9, 2011). "The Betrayal: Don James". The Husky Haul | thehuskyhaul.com.
- ↑ "William Gerberding 1929 -2014, fmr UW President Was Architect Of Husky Football's Demise". UW Dawg Pound | uwdawgpound.com. January 9, 2015.
- ↑ Samek, Dave (August 29, 2004). "The Roses of Wrath". UW Dawg Pound | uwdawgpound.com.
- ↑ Newnham, Blaine (May 28, 2006). "Don James says quitting UW probably saved his life". The Seattle Times | seattletimes.com.
- ↑ Cohen, Stephen (October 27, 2017). "UW unveils 'Dawgfather' Don James statue outside Husky Stadium". SeattlePI | seattlepi.com.
- ↑ "Husband and Wife Graduate". The Evening Independent. June 8, 1954. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Don James induction video". University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ↑ Jude, Adam (October 20, 2013). "Legendary Washington football coach Don James dies at age 80". The Seattle Times | seattletimes.com.