James Quinn Decker (October 29, 1907 – December 20, 1987)[1] was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach Centre College from 1938 to 1941 and The Citadel from 1946 to 1952, compiling a career college football coaching record of 37–56–3.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 29, 1907 |
| Died | December 20, 1987 (aged 80) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1928–1930 | Tennessee |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1932–1934 | Knox Country Central HS (TN) |
| 1935–1937 | Centre (backfield) |
| 1938–1941 | Centre |
| 1944–1945 | Third Air Force |
| 1946–1952 | The Citadel |
| Basketball | |
| 1936–1937 | Centre (freshmen) |
| 1937–1941 | Centre |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1946–1953 | The Citadel |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 52–61–4 (college football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 AAF League (1945) | |
Playing career
editDecker played fullback at the University of Tennessee. He later became an assistant coach at the school.[2]
Coaching career
editHigh school coaching
editBefore coaching in college, Decker coached football at the high school level[3] at Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.[4]
Centre College
editDecker was the head football coach at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky from 1938 until completion of the 1941 season.[5][6]
The Citadel
editQuinn was the 11th head football coach at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, serving for seven seasons, from 1946 until 1952, and compiling a record of 23–39–1. He led the program in its re-establishment after World War II.[7]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre Colonels (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1938–1941) | |||||||||
| 1938 | Centre | 7–2 | 4–0 | 2nd | |||||
| 1939 | Centre | 1–5–2 | 1–1–1 | T–14th | |||||
| 1940 | Centre | 3–6 | 2–1 | T–9th | |||||
| 1941 | Centre | 3–4 | 2–0 | T–2nd | |||||
| Centre: | 14–17–2 | 9–2–1 | |||||||
| Third Air Force Gremlins (Independent) (1944) | |||||||||
| 1944 | Third Air Force | 8–3 | |||||||
| Third Air Force Gremlins (Army Air Forces League) (1945) | |||||||||
| 1945 | Third Air Force | 7–2–1 | 4–1–1 | T–1st | |||||
| Third Air Force: | 15–5–1 | 4–1–1 | |||||||
| The Citadel Bulldogs (Southern Conference) (1946–1952) | |||||||||
| 1946 | The Citadel | 3–5 | 1–5 | 15th | |||||
| 1947 | The Citadel | 3–5 | 1–4 | 12th | |||||
| 1948 | The Citadel | 2–7 | 0–5 | 16th | |||||
| 1949 | The Citadel | 4–5 | 2–2 | 7th | |||||
| 1950 | The Citadel | 4–6 | 2–3 | 11th | |||||
| 1951 | The Citadel | 4–6 | 1–3 | 14th | |||||
| 1952 | The Citadel | 3–5–1 | 1–3–1 | 13th | |||||
| The Citadel: | 23–39–1 | 8–25 | |||||||
| Total: | 52–61–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ J. Quinn Decker's obituary
- ^ NCAA News[permanent dead link] January 6, 1988
- ^ Tennessee Volunteers: Colorful Tales of the Orange and White By Randy Moore, (c) 2006, page 45
- ^ "Fountain Citians Who Made A Difference". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ Lakeland Ledger "Former Citadel Coach Dies" December 22, 1987
- ^ Centre College Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Football coaches
- ^ Citadel Coaching Records Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
External links
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