Nash Higgins

Alfred Nash Higgins (February 29, 1896 – October 29, 1984) was an American football and track and field coach as well as athletic director, the first in the history of the University of Tampa. He later worked as superintendent of recreation for the Hillsborough County Defense Council and the county's school department athletic facilities planner.[1][2]

Nash Higgins
Higgins in the Seminole c. 1929
Biographical details
Born(1896-02-29)February 29, 1896
Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 29, 1984(1984-10-29) (aged 88)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Alma materWabash College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
?Joliet HS (IL)
1920–1922Earlham (assistant)
1926Hillsborough HS (FL)
1927–1932Florida (assistant)
1933–1940Tampa
Track and field
1920–1922Earlham (assistant)
1923–1925Wabash
1928–1933Florida
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1923–1925Wabash (assistant AD)
1933–1940Tampa
Head coaching record
Overall36–39–5 (college football)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame
NAIA Football Hall of Fame

Early years

Higgins attended Wabash College.[3]

Coaching career

Earlham

Higgins was an assistant under coach Ray B. Mowe at Earlham College.

Wabash

Higgins coached track and field at his alma mater.[4] The 1923 track team tied for 11th place in the NCAA meet at Stagg Field.[5]

Hillsborough High

Higgins coached at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida in 1926, leading his team to the state championship.[6][7] On the team were Jimmy Steele and Carlos Proctor. Proctor gave rival St. Petersburg High School its only loss with a field goal.[8]

Florida

Higgins came to the University of Florida after coaching football at Hillsborough.[9][10] He was an assistant football coach, holding the title of chief football scout,[11] and head track coach under Charlie Bachman for the Florida Gators. The 1928 Florida Gators football team led the nation in scoring. He was expected to follow Bachman as head coach, already recommended by the committee on athletics,[12] when 26-year old Dutch Stanley was hired.

Tampa

After his time with the Gators, he was the first head coach and athletic director at the University of Tampa.[9][13] In a March 27, 1933 letter, offering the position of athletic director to Higgins, university president Frederic Spaulding wrote: "We particularly want anyone who accepts a position with us to feel enthusiastic about the school, and freely and wholeheartedly devote himself to its growth and improvement. We want men who are willing to give their best service unstintingly, and feel they are making an investment for the future."[14]

Higgins picked the school's colors of red, black, and gold; combining those of Hillsborough High (red and black) with Plant High School (gold and black).[15] His assistant while at Tampa was former fellow Gator assistant Alvin Pierson.

Tampa still holds the Nash Higgins Relays named in his honor. He was inducted into the Tampa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1962;[16] and the NAIA Football Hall of Fame in 1959.[17]

Head coaching record

College football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Tampa Spartans (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1933–1937)
1933 Tampa 6–2–2
1934 Tampa 8–4
1935 Tampa 5–5
1936 Tampa 5–3–2
1937 Tampa 4–5
Tampa Spartans (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1938–1940)
1938 Tampa 3–70–4T–33rd
1939 Tampa 2–7–10–3–1T–30th
1940 Tampa 3–62–4T–19th
Tampa: 36–39–52–11–1
Total:36–39–5

References
  1. "Final School Addition Plan Received By Citrus Board". Ocala Star-Banner. December 21, 1962.
  2. "Nash Higgins Quits As Coach At Tampa". The Palm Beach Post. December 4, 1940.
  3. "Florida's Team of Stars Shines In South Field". Dixon Evening Telegraph. November 23, 1928. p. 9. Retrieved August 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Sport Sparks". The Crawfordsville Review. April 7, 1925.
  5. "Wabash Athletics History".
  6. "Two Unbeaten Teams Expected To Provide Argument Over Title". The Evening Independent. November 22, 1926.
  7. "Hillsborough Terriers". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  8. Jeff Moshier (December 10, 1938). "Playing Square". The Evening Independent.
  9. "Nash Higgins Quits As Coach At Tampa". The Palm Beach Post. December 4, 1940.
  10. "Interview with Dashwood Hicks, October 24, 1979".
  11. "Vaughn Chosen On All-Southern Team By Florida U. Scout" (PDF). The Technician. December 1, 1928.
  12. McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
  13. e. g. Jeff Moshier (October 2, 1939). "Playing Square". The Evening Independent. p. 10.
  14. "Tampa Bay Football History Network - Tampa Spartans History".
  15. "The Founding of the University of Tampa".
  16. "Athletic Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2009-08-22.
  17. "Six Named To NAIA Hall of Fame". Ocala Star-Banner. November 27, 1959. p. 11.
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