Homer Hill Norton (December 30, 1896 – May 26, 1965) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Centenary College of Louisiana from 1919 to 1921 and 1926[1] to 1933 and at Texas A&M University from 1934 to 1947, compiling a career college football record of 143–75–18. His 1939 Texas A&M team went 11–0, beating Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, and was named 1939 National Football Champions national champion. Norton's record at Texas A&M was 82–53–9, giving him the second most wins of any coach in Texas A&M Aggies football history. He was fired in 1947 when his team went 3–6–1 and lost to Texas for the eighth straight year. Norton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.
 Norton, circa 1945 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 30, 1896 Carrollton, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | May 26, 1965 (aged 68) College Station, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1916 | Birmingham |
| Basketball | |
| 1915–1916 | Birmingham |
| Baseball | |
| 1916 | Birmingham |
| 1916–1919 | Birmingham Barons |
| 1920 | Greensboro Patriots |
| 1921 | Lakeland Highlanders |
| Position(s) | End (football) Outfielder (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1919–1921 | Centenary |
| 1922–1925 | Centenary (assistant) |
| 1926–1933 | Centenary |
| 1934–1947 | Texas A&M |
| Basketball | |
| 1921–1926 | Centenary |
| Baseball | |
| 1924–1928 | Centenary |
| 1943–1944 | Texas A&M |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 143–75–18 (football) 49–43 (basketball) 62–37–1 (baseball) |
| Bowls | 2–2–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 National (1939) 2 SIAA (1926–1927) 3 SWC (1939–1941) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1971 (profile) | |
Norton played four different sports at Birmingham–Southern College and played minor league baseball with the Birmingham Barons prior to becoming a coach. In addition to football, Norton also coached basketball at Centenary from 1921 to 1926 and baseball at Texas A&M from 1943 to 1944.
Norton died of a heart attack on May 26, 1965, in College Station, Texas.[2]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centenary Gentlemen (Independent) (1919–1920) | |||||||||
| 1919 | Centenary | 1–3 | |||||||
| 1920 | Centenary | 0–1 | |||||||
| Centenary Gentlemen (Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1921) | |||||||||
| 1921 | Centenary | 3–3 | |||||||
| Centenary Gentlemen (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1926–1933) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Centenary | 6–3 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1927 | Centenary | 10–0 | 4–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1928 | Centenary | 6–3–2 | 2–1–1 | T–8th | |||||
| 1929 | Centenary | 6–3–1 | 1–0 | T–6th | |||||
| 1930 | Centenary | 8–1–1 | 2–0 | T–4th | |||||
| 1931 | Centenary | 5–5 | 3–0 | 3rd | |||||
| 1932 | Centenary | 8–0–1 | 1–0 | 6th | |||||
| 1933 | Centenary | 8–0–4 | 3–0 | 3rd | T Dixie Classic | ||||
| Centenary: | 61–22–9 | 21–1–1 | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1934–1947) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Texas A&M | 2–7–2 | 1–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1935 | Texas A&M | 3–7 | 1–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1936 | Texas A&M | 8–3–1 | 3–2–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1937 | Texas A&M | 5–2–2 | 2–2–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1938 | Texas A&M | 4–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1939 | Texas A&M | 11–0 | 6–0 | 1st | W Sugar | 1 | |||
| 1940 | Texas A&M | 9–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | W Cotton | 6 | |||
| 1941 | Texas A&M | 9–2 | 5–1 | 1st | L Cotton | 9 | |||
| 1942 | Texas A&M | 4–5–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1943 | Texas A&M | 7–2–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | L Orange | ||||
| 1944 | Texas A&M | 7–4 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1945 | Texas A&M | 6–4 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1946 | Texas A&M | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1947 | Texas A&M | 3–6–1 | 1–4–1 | T–5th | |||||
| Texas A&M: | 82–53–9 | 40–35–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 143–75–18 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Glory Years of Football, Centenary College of Louisiana, 1922-1942. Centenary College of Louisiana. 2000.
- ^ Barroquere, Pete (May 27, 1965). "Former Centenary, Aggie Grid Coach Dies in Texas". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. D1. Retrieved July 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com
.
External links
edit- Homer Norton at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Homer Norton at Find a Grave
