James Henry Champion (January 11, 1926 – January 15, 1987) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach. A graduate of

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, Champion spent two seasons as a linebacker and offensive and defensive tackle for the New York Yanks of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). After his playing career, Champion became head football coach Greenwood High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. After three seasons in Greenwood, he returned to Mississippi State as line coach. From 1962 to 1965, Champion was a defensive coach with the BC Lions. After spending one season as an assistant with the St. Louis Cardinals, he returned to the Lions, this time as head coach. Champion was fired during the 1969 season after a 1–9 start. Following his dismissal, Champion served as an assistant with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, St. Louis Cardinals,

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

before his retirement after the 1979 season. He returned to coaching on an interim basis in 1980 after the resignation of

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

defensive line coach

Fred von Appen Frederick Martin von Appen (born March 22, 1942) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1996 to 1998, compiling a record of 5–31. He also served as an assistant ...

. Champion spent the rest of the season with the Packers, but was not brought back for the 1981 season.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Jim 1926 births 1987 deaths Atlanta Falcons coaches BC Lions coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football players New Orleans Saints coaches New York Jets coaches New York Yanks players St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches People from Yalobusha County, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi National Football League defensive coordinators