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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, coach,

college athletics College sports or college athletics encompasses amateur sports played by non- professional, collegiate and university-level student athletes in competitive sports and games. College sports have led to many college rivalries. College sports ...

administrator, and naval aviator who rose to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He was the head coach at the

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

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

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 1951 and 1954, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 a ...

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 in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. Hamilton was inducted into the

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

as a player in 1965.

Early life and playing career

Born in Hoopeston, Illinois, Hamilton attended high school in Columbus and

Granville, Ohio Granville is a Village (United States)#Ohio, village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,946 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The village is located in a rural area of hills, known locally as the Welsh Hills ...

. 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, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, 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 Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, Hamilton served the required period in surface ships before applying for flight training. He qualified as a naval aviator and flew a variety of aircraft, including patrol planes from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1938 and 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and two more in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

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 i ...

. 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 Uni ...

and

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

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

Awards

Hamilton received the Theodore Roosevelt Award from the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, the Stagg Award from the American Football Coaches Association, 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 b ...

from the National Football Foundation, the Corbett Award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the James Lynah Award from the Eastern College Athletic Conference. In 1976, he was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions.

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 Baseball players from Chula Vista, California Players of American football from San Diego County, California People from Licking County, Ohio Sportspeople 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 20th-century American sportsmen