Johnny Majors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Johnny Majors | ||
|---|---|---|
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| College | University of Tennessee | |
| Sport | College football | |
| Born | May 21, 1935 | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 185-137-10 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Awards | ||
| 1976 National Coach of the Year | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1953-1956 | University of Tennessee | |
| Position | Tailback | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1993-1996 1977-1992 1973-1976 1968-1972 |
Pitt Tennessee Pitt Iowa State |
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Johnny Majors (born May 21, 1935 in Lynchburg, Tennessee), was a longtime College Football Head Coach and alumnus of the University of Tennessee. Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (as a player) in 1987.
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[edit] Playing career
He played high school ball for the Huntland Hornets of Franklin County, Tennessee. They won the state championship in 1951. His dad, Shirley was the head coach at Huntland from 1949-1957 and he also played alongside his brother Joe.
A triple-threat tailback at the University of Tennessee, one of the last schools to use the single wing rather than some version of the T formation, Majors was an All-American in 1956. He played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1957 and then became an assistant coach at several schools.
As a running back, he was the runnerup for the 1956 Heisman Trophy.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Iowa State University
Majors was the 24th head college football coach for the Iowa State University Cyclones located in Ames, Iowa and he held that position for five seasons, from 1968 until 1972. His career coaching record at Iowa state was 24 wins, 30 losses, and 1 ties. This ranks him seventh at Iowa state in total wins and 16th at Iowa state in winning percentage.[1]
[edit] University of Pittsburgh
After Iowa State, Majors found his greatest success as coach of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in 1973. In Pittsburgh he recruited such greats as Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett and Matt Cavanaugh among others. The Panthers won the national title in 1976, after which Majors went back to his alma mater. Majors also received National Coach of the Year honors for that season.
[edit] University of Tennessee
At Tennessee, Majors achieved success in the 1980s and early 1990s winning three SEC Championships (in 1985, 1989 and 1990), but falling short of a National Championship. In 1989, the Majors-led Vols followed a 5-6 season with a 11-1 season, the largest turnaround of the year.
[edit] Return to Pittsburgh
In 1992, Majors had heart bypass surgery and was replaced by Coach Phillip Fulmer; he then returned to his second home of Pittsburgh to once again coach the Panthers. Throughout the mid-1990s Majors tried to recreate the magic of 1976 at Pitt but achieved little success. He retired from coaching following the 1996 NCAA season and served at Pitt in the position of Special Assistant to the Athletic Director and Chancellor until the summer of 2007.[1] A room on the second floor of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association adjacent to Pitt's campus is dedicated to him and displays memorabilia from his career. Majors now resides in Knoxville, TN. with his wife Mary Lynn.
[edit] Trivia
- Majors lost the Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung, who starred for Notre Dame. That year Notre Dame had a losing record. To date, this is the only time the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a player on a losing team. Many believe that Hornung won the Heisman because he played for Notre Dame which at the time was the "big shot" football school.
- He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
- The City of Knoxville named a street after Majors. The street is on the campus of The University of Tennessee and is the location of the school's practice facility.
- Actor Lee Majors borrowed Majors' last name to form his stage name. According to one published account, Lee (real name Harvey Lee Yeary), met Majors in his youth while John was a football player at UT, and they became friends. The two are not actually related, although Lee Majors could regularly be seen roaming the sidelines during John Majors' tenure at Pitt and during the early days at Tennessee.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State Cyclones (Big Eight Conference) (1968 – 1972) | |||||||||
| 1968 | Iowa State | 3-7 | 1-6 | 7th | |||||
| 1969 | Iowa State | 3-7 | 1-6 | 7th | |||||
| 1970 | Iowa State | 5-6 | 1-6 | T-6th | |||||
| 1971 | Iowa State | 8-4 | 4-3 | 4th | L Sun | ||||
| 1972 | Iowa State | 5-6-1 | 2-4-1 | 5th | L Liberty | ||||
| Pittsburgh Panthers (Independent) (1973 – 1976) | |||||||||
| 1973 | Pittsburgh | 6-5-1 | L Fiesta | ||||||
| 1974 | Pittsburgh | 7-4 | |||||||
| 1975 | Pittsburgh | 8-4 | W Sun | T13 | 15 | ||||
| 1976 | Pittsburgh | 12-0 | W Sugar | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) (1977 – 1992) | |||||||||
| 1977 | Tennessee | 4-7 | 1-5 | 8th | |||||
| 1978 | Tennessee | 5-5-1 | 3–3 | T-4th | |||||
| 1979 | Tennessee | 7-5 | 3-3 | T-5th | L Bluebonnet | ||||
| 1980 | Tennessee | 5-6 | 3-3 | 6th | |||||
| 1981 | Tennessee | 8-4 | 3-3 | T-4th | W Garden State | ||||
| 1982 | Tennessee | 6-5-1 | 3-2-1 | 5th | L Peach | ||||
| 1983 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 4–2 | T-3rd | W Citrus | ||||
| 1984 | Tennessee | 7-4-1 | 3-3 | T-5th | L Sun | ||||
| 1985 | Tennessee | 9-1-2 | 5-1 | 1st | W Sugar | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1986 | Tennessee | 7-5 | 3-3 | 6th | W Liberty | ||||
| 1987 | Tennessee | 10-2-1 | 4-1-1 | 3rd | W Peach | 13 | 14 | ||
| 1988 | Tennessee | 5-6 | 3-4 | T-6th | |||||
| 1989 | Tennessee | 11-1 | 6-1 | T-1st | W Cotton | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1990 | Tennessee | 9-2-2 | 5-1-1 | 1st | W Sugar | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1991 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 5–2 | 3rd | L Fiesta | 15 | 14 | ||
| 1992 | Tennessee | 5-3* | 3-3 | 3rd (East) | 12 | 12 | |||
| Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East Conference) (1993 – 1996) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Pittsburgh | 3-8 | 2-5 | 6th | |||||
| 1994 | Pittsburgh | 3-8 | 2-5 | 7th | |||||
| 1995 | Pittsburgh | 2-9 | 0-7 | 8th | |||||
| 1996 | Pittsburgh | 4-7 | 3-4 | 5th | |||||
| : | *-first three games of the season and bowl were coached by Phillip Fulmer. | ||||||||
| Total: | 185-137-10 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. |
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Clay Stapleton |
Iowa State Football Coaches 1968–1972 |
Succeeded by Earle Bruce |
| Preceded by Carl DePasqua Sal Sunseri |
University of Pittsburgh Football Coaches 1973–1976 1993–1996 |
Succeeded by Jackie Sherrill Walt Harris |
| Preceded by John McKay Woody Hayes |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award 1973 1976 |
Succeeded by Grant Teaff Lou Holtz |
| Preceded by Joe Paterno |
Walter Camp Coach of the Year 1973 |
Succeeded by Barry Switzer |
| Preceded by Bill Battle |
University of Tennessee Football Coaches 1977–1992 |
Succeeded by Phillip Fulmer |
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