Jennings B. Whitworth
Sport(s) | Football, baseball |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born |
Arkansas | September 17, 1908
Died |
March 3, 1960 51) Athens, Georgia | (aged
Playing career | |
Football | |
1930β1931 | Alabama |
Position(s) | Tackle |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1932β1934 | Alabama (assistant) |
1937 | LSU (freshmen) |
1938 | LSU (line) |
1939β1949 | Georgia (assistant) |
1950β1954 | Oklahoma A&M |
1955β1957 | Alabama |
1959 | Georgia (assistant) |
Baseball | |
1933β1934 | Alabama |
1943 | Georgia |
Head coaching record | |
Overall |
26β51β14 (football) 22β21 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 MVC (1953) |
Jennings Bryan "Ears" Whitworth (September 17, 1908 β March 3, 1960) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State UniversityβStillwater, (1950β1954) and the University of Alabama (1955β1957), compiling a career record of 26β51β14. Whitworth also coached baseball at Alabama (1933β1934) and the University of Georgia (1943), tallying a mark of 22β21.
Coaching career
From 1950 to 1954, he coached at Oklahoma A&M, and compiled a 22β27β1 record. From 1955 to 1957, he coached at Alabama, where he posted a 4β24β2 record that included a 14-game losing streak from 1955 to 1956. In his first year at Alabama, Whitworth was only allowed to hire only two of his own coaches and forced to retain the rest of former coach Harold Drew's assistants. This included athletic director Hank Crisp, Whitworth's boss, who was in charge of the defense. Whitworth brought assistant coach Moose Johnson with him from Oklahoma A&M. Following successive 2β7β1 seasons in 1956 and 1957, Whitworth was fired and replaced by Bear Bryant. In 1951, while Whitworth was coaching Oklahoma A&M, the infamous Johnny Bright Incident, occurred in the football game in Stillwater, Oklahoma, against the visiting Drake University Bulldogs. Whitworth acknowledged in subsequent press that the hit on Bright was illegal, but did not suspend the player responsible. One player later allegeded that Whitworth had instigated the incident through labelling Bright a "prima donna" and expressing racist sentiments during practice. [1]
Whitworth was an Alabama graduate and had played tackle on the football team alongside Fred Sington. He was an assistant football coach at Alabama, Louisiana State University, and the University of Georgia prior to becoming a head coach. In 1959, Whitworth returned as a line coach for Wally Butts' SEC champion Georgia team.
Whitworth was the head baseball coach at Georgia in 1943, compiling a 1β10 won-loss record.
Family
Jennings Bryan Whitworth was born September 17, 1908 in Arkansas to parents James Ervin Whitworth (1870 β ?) and Lila Lee ? (1882 β ?). He married Virginia Ann Calvert (May 7, 1911 in West Monroe, Louisiana β May 11, 2003 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma) on July 21, 1936 in West Monroe, La. She was the daughter of Emmitt Griffin Calvert (1868 β 1951) and Johnnie Fletcher Tooke (1880 β 1926). Jennings died on March 3, 1960 in Athens, Georgia.
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oklahoma A&M Cowboys (Missouri Valley Conference) (1950β1954) | |||||||||
1950 | Oklahoma A&M | 4β6β1 | 1β2β1 | Tβ4th | |||||
1951 | Oklahoma A&M | 3β7 | 3β2 | 3rd | |||||
1952 | Oklahoma A&M | 3β7 | 2β2 | 3rd | |||||
1953 | Oklahoma A&M | 7β3 | 3β1 | Tβ1st | |||||
1954 | Oklahoma A&M | 5β4β1 | 2β2 | 3rd | |||||
Oklahoma A&M: | 22β27β2 | 11β9β1 | |||||||
Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference) (1955β1957) | |||||||||
1955 | Alabama | 0β10 | 0β7 | 12th | |||||
1956 | Alabama | 2β7β1 | 2β5 | Tβ8th | |||||
1957 | Alabama | 2β7β1 | 1β6β1 | 10th | |||||
Alabama: | 4β24β2 | 3β18β1 | |||||||
Total: | 26β51β14 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title |
References
Additional sources
- Stoddard, Tom, Turnaround, 1996, The Black Belt Press, ISBN 1-881320-70-7
- Hooper, Matt (June 10, 2009) "Low Tide: 'Ears' Whitworth & the Lost History of Alabama Football". Birmingham Weekly