Morris Higginbotham (June 6, 1925 – June 13, 2011) was a football head coach for numerous Alabama high schools and at Livingston College (now the University of West Alabama) from 1952 through his retirement in 1981.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1925 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | June 13, 2011 (aged 86) McCalla, Alabama, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1952 | Walnut Grove HS (AL) |
| 1953–1957 | West Blocton HS (AL) |
| 1958 | B. B. Comer HS (AL) |
| 1959–1961 | Enterprise HS (AL) |
| 1963–1966 | Hueytown HS (AL) |
| 1967–1969 | Livingston |
| 1970–1971 | Scottsboro HS (AL) |
| 1972–1975 | Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL) |
| 1978–1981 | Hueytown HS (AL) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 19–9–2 (college) 190–73–8 (high school) |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
Early life
editHigginbotham was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1925. Between 1943 and 1946 he served in the United States Army Air Corps as a soldier in World War II. Upon his return, he earned his college from the University of Alabama and began his coaching career in 1952 at Walnut Grove High School.[1]
Coaching career
editHigh school
editIn 1952, Higginbotham began his coaching career at Walnut Grove High School, where he compiled a record of seven wins, two losses and one tie (7–2–1) during his lone season there.[2] From 1953 to 1957 he led West Blocton High School to an overall record of 41 wins, six losses and two ties (41–6–2).[2] His tenure there included three undefeated seasons and for his efforts the field bears his name.[3] From West Blocton Higginbotham coached one year at B.B. Comer High School (5–4–1) before he started his three-year tenure at Enterprise High School, where he compiled an overall record of 27 wins, two losses and one tie (27–2–1).[2] From Enterprise, he moved to Hueytown High School, where he compiled a record of 23 wins, 12 losses and three ties (23–12–3) during his first tenure at the school.[2]
After a stint as head coach at Livingston College, Higginbotham returned to high school coaching at Scottsboro High School for two seasons (13–9) and then at Hewitt-Trussville High School from 1972 to 1975 where he compiled a record of 24 wins, 14 losses and one tie (24–14–1).[2] He then concluded his coaching career with his second stint at Hueytown where he compiled a record of 15 wins, 24 losses and one tie (15–24–1) before his retirement after the 1981 season.[2]
In 1993 Higginbotham was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his career in coaching.[4] In his 27 years as a high school head coach, he compiled an overall record of 190 wins, 73 losses and eight ties (190–73–8) and five state football championships.[4]
College
editIn February 1967, Livingston officials announced the hiring of Higginbotham as the Tigers' new head coach.[5] In his second season, Higginbotham led Livingston to an appearance in the inaugural Peanut Bowl at Dothan, but lost to Ouachita Baptist University 39–6 in the game.[6] Following the 1969 season he returned to coach high school football at Scottsboro High School with Mickey Andrews serving as his replacement at Livingston.[7] For his career at Livingston, Higginbotham compiled a record of 19 wins, nine losses and two ties (19–9–2).
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Tigers (Alabama Collegiate Conference) (1967–1969) | |||||||||
| 1967 | Livingston | 4–5–1 | |||||||
| 1968 | Livingston | 9–2 | L Peanut Bowl | ||||||
| 1969 | Livingston | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| Livingston: | 19–9–2 | ||||||||
| Total: | 19–9–2 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Morris Cullen Higginbotham". Obituaries & Guestbooks. AL.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Alabama High School Football Head Coaches: Morris Higginbotham". Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ Sentell, Jeff (June 13, 2011). "AHSAA Hall of Famer Morris Higginbotham passes away at 86". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ a b "Hall of Fame – 1993". Alabama High School Sports Association. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ Bain, Roy (February 2, 1967). "Optimism is LSC keynote". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 8. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ "Livingston falls in Peanut Bowl". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. December 22, 1968. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
- ^ Voit, Stan (August 30, 1970). "Early tilts key to Tigers fame?". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 31. Retrieved November 26, 2011.