Jim Sochor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Sochor
Sport Football
Born February 11, 1938
Place of birth Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Career highlights
Overall 156-41-5
Championships
College FB record 18 consecutive conference championships, Offensive Coordinator in World Bowl IV win
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1970-1989 UC Davis
College Football Hall of Fame, 1999 (Bio)

Jim Sochor (February 11, 1938 – ) was a head football coach at University of California, Davis. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Jim Sochor was born February 11, 1938 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

[edit] Playing career

He was a quarterback for San Francisco State from 1957 to 1959 and led them to three league championships.

[edit] Early coaching career

Jim started to coach as an assistant at San Francisco State from 1960 to 1965. He then served as an assistant at the University of California at Davis from 1967 to 1969.

[edit] Head coach

He became the head coach at UC Davis in 1970. Following his first year there, Jim had a streak of 18 consecutive conference championships, from 1971 to 1988. This is more than any other football program on any level in NCAA history. His overall record between 1970 and 1988 was 156-41-5, a winning percentage of .785. In conference games under Jim, the Aggies were 92-5. He had winning streaks of 41 and 38 in conference games. His Aggies were the final poll leaders at the end of the regular season in 1983 and 1985.

He was named national coach of the year in NCAA Division II in 1983. He was the coach of future NFL quarterbacks Mike Moroski and Ken O'Brien and kicker Rolf Benirschke. He was also a mentor to several future head coaches including Dan Hawkins, Paul Hackett, Mike Bellotti, Chris Petersen, and Bob Biggs.

[edit] 1982 Palm Bowl

Jim led the 1982 Aggies to the Palm Bowl in McAllen, Texas for the NCAA Division II national football championship against the Jim Wacker-led Southwest Texas State, but lost 34-9. Aggie Quarterback Ken O'Brien had suffered leg and ankle injuries in the semi-final game two weeks before, and as a result reserve Scott Barry had to lead the offense.

[edit] Later career

He served as the UC Davis director of athletics from 1988 to 1991. He served as the coach of the golf team for five years starting in 1992.

[edit] NFL Europe

He served as the offensive coordinator of the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe for three years. They won World Bowl IV 32-27 over the Frankfurt Galaxy during his time there.

[edit] Charity work

In 1984 and 1988 he served as the assistant coach in the East-West Shrine Game.

[edit] Honors

[edit] References