James was born in 1932 at his family's home on the outskirts of Massillon, Ohio.[2] He was the fourth of five sons. Four of the five played football, and the eldest, Tommy, starred at Ohio State on the 1942national championship team, and played professional football for a decade (1947–1956).
James attended Massillon Washington High School, where was quarterback for the school's football team in 1948 and 1949, and graduated in 1950.[2]
College football and military service
James attended the University of Miami on a football scholarship, and was the quarterback for the Hurricanes in 1952 and 1953. He set Miami single-season records for completions (121), yards (1,363), and completion percentage (56.9%).[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1954, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
James was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.[4]
Like Owens, James served as Husky head coach for 18 seasons, from 1975 until August 1993. He led the Huskies to a national championship in 1991. While at Washington, James' teams won four Rose Bowls, the Orange Bowl in January 1985, and had a 10–4 record in all bowl games. Overall, James tallied a 153–57–2 (.726) record at Washington, including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. (Against the five current North division opponents of the Pac-12, his record was 68–14 (.829)). Washington won 22 consecutive games from November 1990 to November 1992.[9] James won national college coach of the year honors in 1977, 1984, and 1991. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
In early November 1992, it was revealed that several Huskies players had received improper benefits. Among them, starting quarterback Billy Joe Hobert had received a series of loans totaling $50,000 made by a friend's father-in-law.[10][11] At the time, the defending national champion Huskies were undefeated (8–0), ranked first in the AP poll, and second in the coaches' poll.[12] While it was later determined the loan was neither an NCAA violation nor an institutional violation, this was the first in a series of reports by The Seattle Times and Los Angeles Times that initiated Pacific-10 Conference and NCAA investigations.[13][14] These led to charges that Washington exhibited "lack of institutional control" over its handling of recruiting funds for on-campus visits and a Los Angeles booster summer jobs program.[15] The Huskies received sanctions from both the NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference.
Though notably James and the coaching staff were not specifically cited as having broken any rules, James resigned from his head coaching position on August 22, 1993, in protest of what were considered unfair sanctions against his team for minor, unsubstantiated, or fabricated infractions.[16] Though university president William Gerberding and athletic director Barbara Hedges had presented James the final list of penalties that all Pac-10 parties had agreed best for the football program and athletics, Gerberding argued in favor of altering the penalties against the program from a two-year TV revenue ban and one-year bowl ban, to a one-year TV revenue ban and two-year bowl ban.[17][18][19][20][21]
In a 2019 interview with The Athletic, it was cited by his wife that his resignation from head coaching probably saved his life.[22]
Personal life
James married his high school sweetheart, Carol Hoobler, a Massillon native who followed James to Miami where she became a cheerleader.[23][24] They were married in August 1952 and had three children: Jeff, Jill, and Jeni.[3]
Wins by MSU and UCLA in (1977) and ASU in (1979) were later vacated, yielding James' overall record in Washington 153–57–2 (.726) and conference record in 99–36–2 (.730). Overall James' record yielding 178–76–3 (.698). However those wins are recognized by Washington they aren't recognized by NCAA.[28]
Pac-10 opponents
James' record at Washington against conference opponents (1975–1992)
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United States
U.S. Army
Lieutenant