James H. Weaver (1903 – July 11, 1970) 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 wit ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

from 1933 to 1936, compiling a record of 10–23–1. Weaver was

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

at Wake Forest from 1937 to 1954. As athletic director at Wake Forest, one of his most notable actions was the development of the golf program, including the recruitment and award of a scholarship to

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. On May 7, 1954, he was named commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He held the post until his death in 1970.

Early life and playing career

Weaver was a native of Rutherfordton, North Carolina. In 1919 he matriculated at

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College i ...

, where he played football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

. His father, Charles C. Weaver, was president of the college. The younger Weaver subsequently attended Trinity College in Durham, North Carolina – now Duke University – before moving on to

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi ...

, where he played football.

Coaching career

After graduating from Centenary, Weaver played professional football and coached the freshmen football team as his alma mater. He returned to North Carolina to become the football coach at Oak Ridge Military Academy in 1928, serving in that capacity for five years.

Death

Weaver died at the age of 67 in Colorado Springs, Colorado on July 11, 1970.

Honors

The James Weaver Award, awarded from 1970 to 1994, for the ACC Student-Athlete of the Year (showing exceptional achievement on the playing field and in the classroom), was named after Weaver . In 1994, it merged with other awards, eventually forming the Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Awards. Weaver was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, following his death. He was also among the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest athletics hall of fame.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Jim 1903 births 1970 deaths American men's basketball players Atlantic Coast Conference commissioners Emory and Henry Wasps baseball players Emory and Henry Wasps football players Emory and Henry Wasps men's basketball players Centenary Gentlemen baseball players Centenary Gentlemen football coaches Centenary Gentlemen football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons athletic directors Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches High school football coaches in North Carolina People from Rutherfordton, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina