Jim Tatum

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For the American baseball player use Jim Tatum (baseball player)
Jim Tatum
Title Head coach
College Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma
Sport Football
Born July 22, 1913
Place of birth McColl, SC
Died July 23, 1959 (aged 46)
Place of death Chapel Hill, NC
Career highlights
Overall 100-35-7
Bowls 4-2-0
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1942 &
1956-1958
1947-1955
1946
UNC

Maryland
Oklahoma
College Football Hall of Fame, 1984 (Bio)

James M. “Big Jim” Tatum (July 22, 1913July 23, 1959) was the legendary coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team from 1947-1955. He compiled a 73-15-4 record for an .815 winning percentage. Maryland was undefeated in the 1951 season at 10-0, upsetting top-ranked Tennessee 23-13 in the 1952 Sugar Bowl. His team won the NCAA Division I national championship in 1953. That season, Tatum was voted Coach of the Year. His Maryland teams won conference co-championships in 1951, 1953, and 1955. As well as playing in the Sugar Bowl, Maryland also played twice each in the Gator Bowl and the Orange Bowl under Coach Tatum's leadership.

For three seasons, 1956 to 1958, he served as the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina where he compiled a 19-17-3 record. He had previously coached there in 1942, before enlisting in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to the Iowa Pre-Flight School where he assisted Coach Don Faurot. There, Tatum developed the Split-T Offense. It was this set (with a few variations) that he would use with great success. In 1946, he coached the University of Oklahoma to an 8-3 record before accepting the coaching position at Maryland.[citation needed] Tatum is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Tatum played baseball in his youth and was once a member of the Kinston Eagles minor league team. At 6' 3" and 230 pounds, he was nicknamed "Big Jim." Coach Tatum died in Chapel Hill, NC, on July 23, 1959, only days after contracting a rare virus. He was only 46 years old. He is buried in Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

[edit] Head Coaching Record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl Coaches# AP°
Maryland (Independent) (1947 – 1955)
1947 Maryland 7-2-2 W Gator
1948 Maryland 6-4-0
1949 Maryland 9-1-0 W Gator 14
1950 Maryland 7-2-1
1951 Maryland 10-0-0 W Sugar 3
1952 Maryland 7-2-0 13
Maryland (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1947 – 1955)
1953 Maryland 10-1-0 1st L Orange 1
1954 Maryland 7-2-1 8
1955 Maryland 10-1-0 1st L Orange 3
Maryland: 73-15-4
North Carolina (Independent) (1942 – 1958)
1942 North Carolina 5-2-2
North Carolina (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1942 – 1958)
1956 North Carolina 2-7-1
1957 North Carolina 6-4-0
1958 North Carolina 6-4-0
North Carolina: 19-17-3
Oklahoma (Independent) (1946 – 1946)
1946 Oklahoma 8-3-0 1st W Gator 14
Oklahoma: 8-3-0
Total: 100-35-7
      National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season.

[edit] References

Preceded by
Dewey Luster
University of Oklahoma Head Football Coaches
1946
Succeeded by
Bud Wilkinson
Preceded by
Clark Shaughnessy
University of Maryland Head Football Coaches
1947-1955
Succeeded by
Tommy Mont
Preceded by
George Barclay
University of North Carolina Head Football Coaches
1956-1958
Succeeded by
Jim Hickey
Persondata
NAME Tatum, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Football coach
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH McColl, SC
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1959
PLACE OF DEATH Chapel Hill, NC