Jim Tatum

College coach infobox
Name = Jim Tatum


ImageWidth =
Caption =
DateOfBirth = July 22, 1913
Birthplace = McColl, SC
DateOfDeath = death date and age|1959|7|23|1913|7|22
Deathplace = Chapel Hill, NC
Sport = Football
College = Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma
Title = Head coach
CurrentRecord =
OverallRecord = 100-35-7
BowlRecord = 4-2-0
Awards =
Championships =
CFbDWID = 2298
Player =
Years =
Team =
Position =
Coach = y
CoachYears = 1942 & 1956-1958 1947-1955 1946
CoachTeams = UNC Maryland Oklahoma
FootballHOF = 1984
CollegeHOFID = 50064
BBallHOF =

James M. “Big Jim” Tatum (July 22, 1913—July 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.

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.

Head Coaching Record

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1947
name = Maryland
overall = 7-2-2
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Gator
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1948
name = Maryland
overall = 6-4-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1949
name = Maryland
overall = 9-1-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Gator
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = 14

championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1950
name = Maryland
overall = 7-2-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1951
name = Maryland
overall = 10-0-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Sugar
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = 3

championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1952
name = Maryland
overall = 7-2-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = 13

championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1953
name = Maryland
overall = 10-1-0
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Orange
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl = yes
ranking =
ranking2 = 1

championship = national

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1954
name = Maryland
overall = 7-2-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = 8

championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1955
name = Maryland
overall = 10-1-0
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Orange
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl = yes
ranking =
ranking2 = 3

championship = conference

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1942
name = North Carolina
overall = 5-2-2
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1956
name = North Carolina
overall = 2-7-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1957
name = North Carolina
overall = 6-4-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1958
name = North Carolina
overall = 6-4-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 =
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1946
name = Oklahoma
overall = 8-3-0
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Gator
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = 14

championship = conference

References

reflist

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