Thomas "Rudy" Abrams (born January 14, 1942) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina from 1994 to 1998 and North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina from 1999 to 2002.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 14, 1942 |
| Playing career | |
| 1960–1963 | Livingstone |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1964 | York Road JHS (NC) (assistant) |
| 1969–1971 | Myers Park HS (NC) (RB/WR) |
| 1972–1979 | West Charlotte HS (NC) |
| 1980 | Garinger HS (NC) |
| 1981–1982 | Johnson C. Smith (assistant) |
| 1983–1993 | East Mecklenburg HS (NC) |
| 1994–1998 | Livingstone |
| 1999–2002 | North Carolina Central |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 51–39–1 (college) |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 CIAA (1997–1998) | |
| Awards | |
| 3× CIAA Coach of the Year (1996–1998) | |
Abrams lettered in football for four years at Livingstone before graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business education.[1] He began his coaching career in 1964 as an assistant at York Road Junior High school in Charlotte, North Carolina.[2] From 1969 to 1971, he was an assistant at Myers Park High School, also in Charlotte, mentoring the running backs and wide receivers under head coach Gus Purcell. In 1972, Abrams was appointed as the head football coach at West Charlotte High School.[3] He led West Charlotte to a record of 49–33–1 in eight seasons, highlighted by Southwestern 4-A Conference titles in 1976 and 1978, and a second-place finish in the state in 1978. He left West Charlotte in 1980 to become head coach at cross-town rival Garinger High School, leading Garginer to a record of 2–8 in one season before resigning.[4]
After two years as an assistant coach at Johnson C. Smith University, Abrams was named head football coach at East Mecklenburg High School, also in Charlotte, in 1983.[5][6]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingstone Blue Bears (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1994–1998) | |||||||||
| 1994 | Livingstone | 5–5 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1995 | Livingstone | 5–4–1 | 4–3–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1996 | Livingstone | 8–2 | 7–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1997 | Livingstone | 8–3 | 5–2 | 1st | L Pioneer | ||||
| 1998 | Livingstone | 7–4 | 5–2 | T–1st | L Pioneer | ||||
| Livingstone: | 33–18–1 | 26–11–1 | |||||||
| North Carolina Central Eagles (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1999–2002) | |||||||||
| 1999 | North Carolina Central | 5–5 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2000 | North Carolina Central | 4–6 | 3–3 | 2nd (Western) | |||||
| 2001 | North Carolina Central | 5–4 | 3–3 | 3rd (Western) | |||||
| 2002 | North Carolina Central | 4–6 | 2–5 | T–3rd (Western) | |||||
| Virginia Union: | 18–21 | 12–14 | |||||||
| Total: | 51–39–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Rudy Abrams". Livingstone College Athletics. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Fullwood III, Sam (August 23, 1981). "The Coach: A Mix Of Ambition, Organization, And Ego (continued)". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 6C. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ Buckley, Doug (July 18, 1972). "Abrams Named Head Football Coach". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 8A. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Gowing, Dale (April 15, 1980). "Garinger Hires Abrams". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Wertz Jr., Langston (September 24, 1994). "Abrams has Livingstone rolling at 3-0". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 1B. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Wertz Jr., Langston (September 24, 1994). "Coach has Livingstone at 3-0 (continued)". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 5B. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
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