Jim Johnson (coach)
 Johnson pictured in The Tecoan 1947, ECU yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1912 Cary, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 2004 (aged 92)[1] Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1933–1937 | East Carolina |
| Position | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1946–1948 | East Carolina |
| Basketball | |
| 1946–1947 | East Carolina |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 8–18–1 (football) 17–10 (basketball) |
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
James Archie Johnson Jr. (September 10, 1912 – November 27, 2004) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was tapped to reintroduce men's sports to East Carolina after World War II. He was the seventh head coach of the football, basketball and baseball teams at East Carolina Teachers College. He also was the athletic director for all sports teams. Before coaching, Johnson was a 16 letter winning athlete between 1933 and 1937. Johnson was inducted in 1978 into the ECU Hall of Fame.
"12th Man Tackle"
[edit | edit source]In October 1977, William & Mary met heavily favored East Carolina University in the Oyster Bowl. In the third quarter ECU led by three points. With 3:15 left in the third quarter, William & Mary quarterback Tom Rozantz broke loose and ran for the end zone. Jim Johnson, described by The Virginian Pilot as "a portly 65-year-old gentleman in a raincoat", ran from the sidelines and threw a block tackle on Rozantz before he could score the winning touchdown. The unusual turn of events silenced the screaming William & Mary fans, and the officials gathered to discuss their course of action. After deliberation, the play was ruled a touchdown.[2][3]
Head coaching record
[edit | edit source]Football
[edit | edit source]| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina Pirates (Independent) (1946) | |||||||||
| 1946 | East Carolina | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| East Carolina Pirates (North State Conference) (1947–1948) | |||||||||
| 1947 | East Carolina | 3–6 | 1–3 | 8th | |||||
| 1948 | East Carolina | 0–9 | 0–6 | 9th | |||||
| East Carolina: | 7–17–1 | 1–9 | |||||||
| Total: | 7–17–1 | ||||||||
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Coach Jim tackled a lot in life, but one was most memorable, The Virginian Pilot, December 1, 2004, retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ Pirate Alumni newsletter June 23, 2008, retrieved February 1, 2009.
- 1912 births
- 2004 deaths
- American football tackles
- American men's basketball players
- East Carolina Pirates athletic directors
- East Carolina Pirates baseball coaches
- East Carolina Pirates baseball players
- East Carolina Pirates football coaches
- East Carolina Pirates football players
- East Carolina Pirates men's basketball coaches
- East Carolina Pirates men's basketball players
- Players of American football from North Carolina
- Basketball coaches from North Carolina
- Basketball players from North Carolina
- 20th-century American sportsmen