Thomas James Hamilton (December 26, 1905 – April 3, 1994) 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,

college athletics College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des ...

administrator, and

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

who rose to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was the head coach at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

from 1934 to 1936 and again from 1946 to 1947 and at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

in 1951 and 1954, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 28–32–1. Hamilton was also the

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 the Naval Academy from 1948 to 1948 and at Pittsburgh from 1949 to 1959. From 1959 to 1971, he was the commissioner of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), renamed the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968 and now the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. Hamilton was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a player in 1965.

Early life and playing career

Born in

Hoopeston, Illinois Hoopeston () is a city in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,915. History Hoopeston was laid out in 1871. It was named for Thomas Hoopes, one of the men who offered lan ...

, Hamilton attended high school in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and

Granville, Ohio Granville is a Village (United States)#Ohio, village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is e ...

. He attended the

, graduating in 1927, and was a key player on the 1926 football squad that won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with a 9–0–1 record. The single blemish on that season was a tie with

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, a game which has been described as "one of the greatest football games ever played." He was also elected as class president during his time at the academy.

Military career

Following graduation from Annapolis and commissioning as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, Hamilton served the required period in surface ships before applying for flight training. He qualified as a

and flew a variety of aircraft, including patrol planes from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in 1938 and 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hamilton served ashore and afloat, primarily in aviation training and aboard the aircraft carrier . He was her flight deck officer and executive officer in 1943 and 1944, commanding the ship during a brief refit in 1944.

Coaching and sports administration career

In 1934, Hamilton became the 21st head football coach at his alma mater, and served as head coach at Navy for a total of five years—three years in his first stint from

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

through

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and two more in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

and

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. Hamilton moved on to become

at Navy in 1948, a position which he held for two years before leaving to accept a similar position at the

, serving there until 1959. Twice during his tenure at Pitt, in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, he also was the head coach of the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. Hamilton left Pitt in 1959 to take on the role of founding commissioner of the new Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), which later became the Pacific-8 Conference and eventually the

, a position which he held until 1971. He served as chairman of the

President's Council on Physical Fitness The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports". It is part of the ...

, served 16 years on the U.S Olympic Committee, and was vice-president of the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

Awards

Hamilton received the

Theodore Roosevelt Award The Theodore Roosevelt Award is the highest honor the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may confer on an individual. The award is awarded annually to a graduate from an NCAA member institution who earned a varsity letter in college fo ...

from the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, the Stagg Award from the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

from the

, the

Corbett Award The James J. Corbett Memorial Award is a US award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). It is presented "to the collegiate administrator who through the years has most typified Corbett's devotion t ...

from the

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 ins ...

and the James Lynah Award from the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fro ...

. In 1976, he was inducted into the

San Diego Hall of Champions The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California until its closure in June 2017. The Hall of Champions housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame - San Diego's sports hall of fame - which is now located at Petco P ...

Personal life

Hamilton was married to Emmie Spalding in 1932 and is buried in the Naval Academy cemetery.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Tom 1905 births 1994 deaths American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Navy Midshipmen athletic directors Navy Midshipmen baseball players Navy Midshipmen football coaches Navy Midshipmen football players Pac-12 Conference commissioners Navy Midshipmen men's basketball players Pittsburgh Panthers athletic directors Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy rear admirals Sportspeople from Chula Vista, California People from Licking County, Ohio People from Vermilion County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Basketball players from Columbus, Ohio Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois

Early life and playing career

Military career

Coaching and sports administration career

Awards

Personal life

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links