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 with ...

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

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

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 universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

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 The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). He held the post until his death in 1970.

Early life and playing career

Weaver was a native of

Rutherfordton, North Carolina Rutherfordton (usually pronounced ( ) or ( ), among other similar variations) is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,213 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. Geography Rutherfordton is concentrate ...

. 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 is ...

, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, 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 tea ...

. His father, Charles C. Weaver, was president of the college. The younger Weaver subsequently attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

– now

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

– 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 Rive ...

, 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 Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA) is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. The school is the third oldest military academy in the United States and the first military boarding school to admit girls ...

in 1928, serving in that capacity for five years.

Death

Weaver died at the age of 67 in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

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 The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

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