Don James (American football)

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 (.698).

Don James
James in July 2013
Biographical details
Born(1932-12-31)December 31, 1932
Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
DiedOctober 20, 2013(2013-10-20) (aged 80)
Kirkland, Washington, U.S.
Playing career
1951–1953Miami (FL)
Position(s)Quarterback, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1956–1957Kansas (GA)
1958Southwest Miami HS (FL)
1959–1961Florida State (DB)
1962–1965Florida State (DC)
1966–1967Michigan (DB)
1968–1970Colorado (DC)
1971–1974Kent State
1975–1992Washington
Head coaching record
Overall178–76–3 (college)
Bowls10–5
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 National (1991)[1]
1 MAC (1972)
6 Pac-8/Pac-10 (1977, 1980–81, 1990–92)
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)
3× Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1980, 1990, 1991)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1997 (profile)
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branchUnited States Army seal U.S. Army
Years of service1954–1956
Rank  Lieutenant
Battles/warsCold War

His 1991 Washington team won a share of the national championship after completing a 12–0 season with a decisive 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.[2] He was the fourth of five sons. Four of the five played football, and the eldest, Tommy, starred at Ohio State on the 1942 national championship team, and played professional football for a decade (1947–1956).

James attended Massillon Washington High School, played quarterback for the football team (1948, 1949), and graduated in 1950.[2]

College football and military service

James attended the University of Miami on a football scholarship, and was the quarterback for the Hurricanes in 1952 and 1953. He set Miami single-season records for completions (121), yards (1,363), and completion percentage (56.9%).[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1954, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

James was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.[4]

Coaching career

Assistant coaching positions

James was a 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 twelve seasons at Florida State, Michigan, and Colorado.

Kent State

James became a head coach in 1971 at Kent State in his native Ohio, where he had a 25–19–1 (.567) record 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 four seasons at Kent, the Golden Flashes won their only Mid-American Conference (MAC) title in 1972, and played in their first bowl game, the Tangerine Bowl.[5] The 1973 team posted the best record in program history at 9–2.[6]

Washington

In December 1974, James was hired by University of Washington (UW) athletic director Joseph Kearney to succeed Jim Owens as head coach of the Huskies.[6][7][8] His original contract was for four years, starting at $28,000 per year.[8]

Like Owens, James served as Husky head coach for 18 seasons, from 1975 until August 1993. He led the Huskies to a national championship in 1991. While at Washington, James' teams won four Rose Bowls, the Orange Bowl in January 1985, and had a 10–4 record in all bowl games. Overall, James tallied a 153–57–2 (.726) record at Washington, including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. (Against the five current North division opponents of the Pac-12, his record was 68–14 (.829)). Washington won 22 consecutive games from November 1990 to November 1992.[9] 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.

In early November 1992, 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.[10][11] At the time, the defending national champion Huskies were undefeated (8–0), ranked first in the AP poll, and second in the coaches' poll.[12] 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.[13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16] Though university president William Gerberding and 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.[17][18][19][20][21]

In a 2019 interview with The Athletic, it was cited by his wife that his resignation from head coaching probably saved his life.[22]

Family and later years

James married his high school sweetheart, Carol Hoobler, a Massillon native who followed James to Miami where she became a cheerleader.[23][24] They were married in August 1952 and had three children: Jeff, Jill, and Jeni.[3]

On October 10, 2004 the coach raised the Seattle Seahawks 12 flag before a game at Quest Field vs. the St. Louis Rams.[25]

James died of pancreatic cancer at his Kirkland residence in 2013 at age 80.[26] In October 2017, the University of Washington unveiled a bronze statue of James in the northwest plaza of Husky Stadium.[27]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (1971–1974)
1971 Kent State 3–80–56th
1972 Kent State 6–5–14–11stL Tangerine
1973 Kent State 9–24–12nd
1974 Kent State 7–42–3T–4th
Kent State: 25–19–110–10
Washington Huskies (Pacific-8/Pacific-10 Conference) (1975–1992)
1975 Washington 6–55–2T–3rd
1976 Washington 5–63–4T–4th
1977 Washington 8–46–11stW Rose910
1978 Washington 7–46–2T–2nd
1979 Washington 9–35–22ndW Sun1111
1980 Washington 9–36–11stL Rose1716
1981 Washington 10–26–21stW Rose710
1982 Washington 10–26–22ndW Aloha77
1983 Washington 8–45–22ndL Aloha
1984 Washington 11–16–12ndW Orange22
1985 Washington 7–55–3T–4thW Freedom
1986 Washington 8–3–15–2–1T–2ndL Sun1718
1987 Washington 7–4–14–3–1T–2ndW Independence
1988 Washington 6–53–5T–6th
1989 Washington 8–45–3T–2ndW Freedom2023
1990 Washington 10–27–11stW Rose55
1991 Washington 12–08–01stW Rose12
1992 Washington 9–36–2T–1stL Rose1011
Washington: 150–60–297–38–2
Total:175–79–3
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  • Wins by MSU and UCLA in (1977) and ASU in (1979) were later vacated, yielding James' overall record in Washington 153–57–2 (.726) and conference record in 99–36–2 (.730). Overall James' record yielding 178–76–3 (.698). However those wins are recognized by Washington they aren't recognized by NCAA.[28]

Pac-10 opponents

James' record at Washington against conference opponents (1975–1992)

Opponent Wins Losses Ties Pct. Notes
Oregon State1510.938
California1220.857
Oregon1530.833Rivalry
Stanford1330.813
Washington State1350.722Apple Cup
Arizona731.682
Arizona State †850.615
USC980.529
UCLA581.393
TOTAL97382.715
† excludes non-conference loss to ASU (WAC) in 1975
  • Wins by UCLA (1977) and ASU (1979) were later vacated, yielding 99–36–2 (.730)

Coaching tree

James worked under five head coaches:

Thirteen of James' assistant coaches became head coaches in the NCAA or NFL:

See also

References
  1. "UW Football National Championships". University of Washington. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  2. Gregg Patton (December 25, 1981). "Don James: Born to be a football coach". The Sun. pp. F1, F7 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Miami Mourns Loss of Don James". University of Miami. October 20, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  4. "Don James". University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  5. "Kent State Game by Game Results, 1970". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  6. "Rose Bowl in James' plans at UW". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 24, 1974. p. 13.
  7. "Kent State coach is Huskies' choice". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 23, 1974. p. 19.
  8. "UW: Kent State's James". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 24, 1974. p. 12.
  9. "Washington Game by Game Results, 1990". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  10. Farrey, Tom; Nalder, Eric (November 6, 1992). "Hobert blows $50,000 loan". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Seattle Times). p. C1.
  11. Carpenter, Les (June 20, 2002). "Billy Joe Hobert: Villain, hero? Debate rages". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  12. Cour, Jim (November 3, 1992). "UW coach coach says convincing win justifies ranking". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. C4.
  13. Johnson, Derek (2007). Husky Football in the Don James Era. Derek Johnson Books. ISBN 978-0979327100.
  14. Carpenter, Les (June 20, 2002). "Billy Joe Hobert: Villain, hero? Debate rages". The Seattle Times.
  15. Farrey, Tom (August 22, 1993). "No Bowl Play For Huskies, Pac-10 Decides -- Penalties Beyond 1-Year Ban Possible; Ratification Vote Today". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  16. Caldwell, Phil (January 21, 2011). "USC Sanctions: Unjust Penalties Against UW a Decade Ago Might Force NCAA's Hand". Bleacher Report.
  17. Johnson, Derek (2007). Husky Football in the Don James Era. ISBN 9780979327100.
  18. "The Betrayal of Don James". UW Dawg Pound.
  19. Munson, Carl (December 9, 2011). "The Betrayal: Don James". The Husky Haul.
  20. "William Gerberding 1929 -2014, fmr UW President Was Architect Of Husky Football's Demise". UW Dawg Pound. January 9, 2015.
  21. Samek, Dave (August 29, 2004). "The Roses of Wrath". UW Dawg Pound.
  22. "The final days of Don James".
  23. "Husband and Wife Graduate". The Evening Independent. June 8, 1954. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "Don James induction video". University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  25. Seattle Seahawks 12 Flag Raisers (Stadium Sign). Qwest Field: Seattle Seahawks. 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  26. Jude, Adam (October 20, 2013). "Legendary Washington football coach Don James dies at age 80". The Seattle Times.
  27. Cohen, Stephen (October 27, 2017). "UW unveils 'Dawgfather' Don James statue outside Husky Stadium". SeattlePI.
  28. "All-Time Records for Washington".



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