James Odus Mitchell (June 26, 1899 – July 5, 1989) 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. As a coach, he was successful both at the high school and collegiate levels. In 42 years of coaching, at all levels, he compiled a 289–129–17 record. In his 21 years as a high school coach, he coached at Slaton, Childress,

Pampa The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

, and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, compiling a 165–44–8 record. At Marshall he coached Y. A. Tittle. From 1946 to 1966, Mitchell was the head football coach at North Texas State College, now the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

, compiling a record of 122–85–9. From 1946 to 1952, the Mean Green enjoyed seven consecutive winning seasons, which is a school record. His teams earned 10 conference championships, and played in three bowl games. In his 1966 season, North Texas went 8–2, which helped earn him National Coach of the Year honors. In 1986, he was inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

. Mitchell was also a catalyst for the integration of college football in the state of Texas, as he instituted a policy allowing "any African American students who showed interest in the football team to be given a fair chance" while he was the head coach at North Texas. He extended a partial scholarship offer to incoming African-American freshmen

Abner Haynes Abner Haynes (born September 19, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the American Football League (AFL). Early years and integration of major college football in Texas Born in Denton, Texas, Hay ...

and Leon King in 1956, promoting them to the varsity squad in 1957. Haynes and King both made their varsity debuts on the road against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

(then known as Texas Western) on September 21, 1957, becoming the first African-Americans to play major college football in Texas. In the summer of 1965, he also recruited future

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 ...

Hall of Famer Mean Joe Greene from all-black Dunbar High School in

Temple, Texas Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in t ...

. The ferocious Greene-led defense allowed an average of less than two yards per carry in 1966, Mitchell's final season at North Texas, earning the team the nickname "Mean Green," which stuck and is now the official mascot of the university to this day.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

UNT - Coach Odus Mitchell
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Odus 1899 births 1989 deaths North Texas Mean Green football coaches West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players High school football coaches in Texas Sportspeople from Denton, Texas