James J. Spavital (September 15, 1926 – March 7, 1993) was an American

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

player, coach and executive in six different professional football leagues. He served as the head coach of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) from 1970 to 1973 and as head coach of the Chicago Fire of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL) in 1974. Spavital was the general manager of the CFL's

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

from 1979 to 1982 and the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) in 1983.

Playing career

Spavital played for the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Dons were the first pr ...

in 1949 and 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 ...

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

during the 1950 season. As a starter in 1950 he had 246 rushing yards and 238 receiving. His 96-yard rush against the

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 ...

on November 5, 1950 is the fourth longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. As an Airborne reservist, Spavital was called up in 1951 to serve in the Korean War. His reporting date prevented him from playing a full NFL season so he moved north of the border to play for the

of the

(CFL) enabling him to play a complete season prior to reporting for duty. Wear and tear on his feet effectively ended his playing career. He was also drafted by the

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

in the first round of the

1951 NFL Draft The 1951 National Football League Draft was held January 18–19, 1951, at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season, and the NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft. This was the fifth year that th ...

after the

folded.

Coaching career

In 1955, Spavital joined the

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

coaching staff under coach

Cliff Speegle Clifton M. Speegle (November 4, 1917 – September 5, 1994) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1955 to 1962, compiling a ...

. In 1968 he joined the

as an assistant. In 1970 he was hired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. In four seasons as Bombers head coach, he had a 23–39–2 record and two playoff appearances. In 1974, Spavital was hired as head coach of the Chicago Fire of the

. The team finished 7–13 and folded after the season. In 1975 he joined the New York Jets, coaching the offensive backfield. The following season, he again coached the offensive backfield coach for

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

coach

Monte Clark Monte Dale Clark (January 24, 1937 – September 16, 2009) was an American football player who served as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. He played college football at USC. Early years Clark attended Kingsburg High S ...

. In 1977 Spavital returned to the CFL as an assistant coach with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

, rejoining a fellow assistant from Saskatchewan,

Jack Gotta Jack "Jocko" Gotta (November 14, 1929 – June 29, 2013) was an American-born Canadian professional football player, coach, and general manager. Gotta played Tight End at Oregon State in 1952 and Hamilton Air Force Base from 1954-1956. He sig ...

. In 1981 he was hired as general manager of the

. Spavital left the Roughriders after the season to join the

of the

(USFL). In the league's first year, the Panthers won the USFL championship, defeating the Philadelphia Stars title game. On September 9, 1983 he resigned his post as Panthers GM. In 1989 Spavital was hired by Bill Byrne and Hubie Byrne to help put together a new professional football league to begin play in the spring or summer of 1990. Spavital was the director of football operations for the

Professional Spring Football League The Professional Spring Football League (PSFL) was an outdoor american football minor league slated to begin in 1992. The league had a preview show on SportsChannel America in late 1991/early 1992, laying out the ten teams that would play. The ...

(PSFL) for two years before plans for the league were abandoned. Spavital's son, Steve, was the head football coach at Broken Arrow Senior High in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County, with a portion in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 census, Broken Arrow has a popul ...

. Spavital is also the grandfather of current Texas State head coach

Jake Spavital Jacob Stephen Spavital (born May 1, 1985) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the California Golden Bears. He previously served as the head football coach at Texas State University from 2019 to 2022. Coachi ...

and Texas State

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Zac Spavital.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spavital, Jim 1926 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American football executives American football fullbacks American players of Canadian football Canadian football fullbacks Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players Calgary Stampeders coaches Chicago Fire (WFL) coaches Los Angeles Dons players New York Jets coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football players San Francisco 49ers coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders general managers Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Players of American football from Oklahoma