James Wilson Aiken (May 26, 1899 – October 31, 1961) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach of football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

(1936–1938), the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

(1939–1946), and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

McCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, OR: McCann Communications Corp. . (1947–1950), compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 78–53–5. Aiken was also the head basketball coach at Nevada for a season in 1944–45, tallying a mark of 8–9.

Early years

The son of a farmer, Aiken was born near

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

, and later moved to nearby

Tiltonsville, Ohio Tiltonsville is a village in southern Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,259 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. History Tiltonsville was laid out in 1 ...

. He attended

Martins Ferry High School Martins Ferry High School is a public high school in Martins Ferry, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Martins Ferry City School District. Athletic teams compete as the Martins Ferry Purple Riders in the Ohio High School Athl ...

and was a standout athlete. Following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Aiken enrolled at

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, and earned four

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

in football as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

for the

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. He was a senior on the 1921 team under head coach

Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life and playing career Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...

which played

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to a scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl.

High school coach

After graduation from college in 1922, Aiken was a successful

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

coach in Pennsylvania and Ohio, at

Findlay High School Findlay High School is a public high school in Findlay, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Findlay City School District, and the second largest high school in northwest Ohio. Their nickname is the Trojans. They are members of the Three River ...

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 United St ...

, where he won a state championship in 1925, Scott in Toledo (1926–1931), and McKinley in Canton (1932–1935).

College coach

From 1936 to 1938 at

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, Aiken's teams posted a 19–7–1 record, which is the best mark in school history. From 1939 to 1946, at

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in Reno, he posted a 38–26–3 record. He moved to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 1947, and compiled a 21–20 record. In his first year in Eugene, he led the Ducks to a 7–3 record, followed by an undefeated conference record in 1948 and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. In those first two seasons, the team was led on the field by quarterback

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...

, a future member of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. Halfback John McKay, future head coach at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and the expansion

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, transferred from

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and was a key member of the 1948 and 1949 teams.

After coaching

After four seasons in Eugene, Aiken resigned as head coach at Oregon in June 1951, and entered the lumber business in Roseburg. Aiken had several mild heart attacks in the late 1950s and was later the athletic director at

Roseburg High School Roseburg High School is a public high school in Roseburg, Oregon, United States. Campus The campus is roughly and contains seven main buildings as well as a track and an artificial turf football field. Completed in 1926, the "Heritage Buildin ...

. After giving a speech at a sports dinner in 1961 in Medford, he suffered a heart attack and died at age 62.

Head coaching record

College football

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Jim 1899 births 1961 deaths Akron Zips football coaches American football ends Nevada Wolf Pack athletic directors Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players High school football coaches in Ohio High school football coaches in Pennsylvania People from Jefferson County, Ohio People from Martins Ferry, Ohio Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia Basketball coaches from Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio