Jim Aiken
{{For|the concert promoter|Jim Aiken (concert promoter)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Jim Aiken
| image = Jim Aiken 1949 (2).jpg
| image_upright = 0.7
| alt =
| caption = Aiken, circa 1949
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1899|5|26}}
| birth_place = Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1961|10|31|1899|5|26}}
| death_place = Medford, Oregon, U.S.
| alma_mater = Washington & Jefferson (1922)
| player_sport1 = Football
| player_years2 = 191?–1921
| player_team2 = Washington & Jefferson
| player_positions = End
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1922
| coach_team2 = Washington HS (PA)
| coach_years3 = 1924–1925
| coach_team3 = Findlay HS (OH)
| coach_years4 = 1926–1931
| coach_team4 = Toledo Scott HS (OH)
| coach_years5 = 1932–1935
| coach_team5 = Canton McKinley HS (OH)
| coach_years6 = 1936–1938
| coach_team6 = Akron
| coach_years7 = 1939–1946
| coach_team7 = Nevada
| coach_years8 = 1947–1950
| coach_team8 = Oregon
| coach_sport9 = Basketball
| coach_years10 = 1944–1945
| coach_team10 = Nevada
| admin_years1 = 1939–1947
| admin_team1 = Nevada
| admin_years2 = 1960–1961
| admin_team2 = Roseburg HS (OR)
| overall_record = 78–53–5 (college football)
8–9 (college basketball)
| bowl_record = 0–1
| tournament_record =
| championships = 1 FWC (1939)
1 PCC (1948)
| awards =
| coaching_records =
}}
James Wilson Aiken (May 26, 1899 – October 31, 1961){{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GjoRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YOkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6807%2C52604 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=Ex-Duck grid coach Jim Aiken dies |date=November 1, 1961 |page=3B}} was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Akron (1936–1938), the University of Nevada (1939–1946), and the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, OR: McCann Communications Corp. {{ISBN|0-9648244-7-7}}. (1947–1950), compiling a career college football record of 78–53–5. Aiken was also the head basketball coach at Nevada for a season in 1944–45, tallying a mark of 8–9.
Early years
The son of a farmer, Aiken was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, and later moved to nearby Tiltonsville, Ohio. He attended Martins Ferry High School and was a standout athlete.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e7RWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k-gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6930%2C3250513 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=Jim Aiken - a biography |date=December 25, 1948 |page=8 }}
Following the First World War, Aiken enrolled at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and earned four letters in football as an end for the Presidents. He was a senior on the 1921 team under head coach Greasy Neale which played California to a scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl.
High school coach
After graduation from college in 1922, Aiken was a successful high school football coach in Pennsylvania and Ohio, at Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, where he won a state championship in 1925, Scott in Toledo (1926–1931), and McKinley in Canton (1932–1935).
College coach
From 1936 to 1938 at Akron, Aiken's teams posted a 19–7–1 record, which is the best mark in school history. From 1939 to 1946, at Nevada in Reno, he posted a 38–26–3 record. He moved to Oregon in 1947,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CLgRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iugDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4542%2C113610 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=Genial, bull-voiced Jim Aiken reviews campus, grid roster |date=January 17, 1947 |page=1}} and compiled a 21–20 record. In his first year in Eugene, he led the Ducks to a 7–3 record, followed by an undefeated conference record in 1948 and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4-tXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i-gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4350%2C5692521 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=Final Coast Conference standings |date=November 21, 1948 |page=1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=erFhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k-gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6372%2C3839592 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |last=Strite |first=Dick |title=Oregon, Cal both drop bowl games |date=January 2, 1949 |page=1}} In those first two seasons, the team was led on the field by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bUMaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AyUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4568%2C3672387 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Oregon stars a Trilby for Svengali Jim Aiken |date=November 15, 1948 |page=2, final }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sU9WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t-sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5839%2C489265 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |last=Clark |first=Bob |title=Top Ducks |date=September 3, 1998 |page=3D}} a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Halfback John McKay, future head coach at USC and the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, transferred from Purdue and was a key member of the 1948 and 1949 teams.
After coaching
After four seasons in Eugene, Aiken resigned as head coach at Oregon in June 1951,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VzBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uAsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6079%2C4032183 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=UO coach Jim Aiken quits post |last=Strite |first=Dick |date=June 14, 1951 |page=1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fOZXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PPYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6944%2C5585517 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |title=Jim Aiken, Oregon head grid coach, quits post |date=June 14, 1951 |page=37}} and entered the lumber business in Roseburg.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v8pQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rOIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3249%2C3711371 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |title=Aiken doubtful of candidacy |date=February 29, 1952 |page=1}} Aiken had several mild heart attacks in the late 1950s{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pfVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mOIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3606%2C3226791 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Associated Press |title=Aiken in hospital |date=February 21, 1957 |page=2B}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H2RQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bxAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6646%2C841254 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Aiken, ex-Oregon grid pilot, ailing |date=February 22, 1957 |page=4, part 2 }} and was later the athletic director at Roseburg High School. After giving a speech at a sports dinner in 1961 in Medford, he suffered a heart attack and died at age 62.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BDtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SvcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3803%2C123048 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |agency=Associated Press |title=Death claims ex-Duck coach |date=November 1, 1961 |page=21 }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aIFRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QBEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3503%2C898608 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=UPI |title=Ex-grid coach Aiken dies after speech |date=November 2, 1961 |page=10, part 2}}
Head coaching record
=College football=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = AP }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Akron Zips
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1936
| endyear = 1938
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1936
| name = Akron
| overall = 6–2–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1937
| name = Akron
| overall = 7–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1938
| name = Akron
| overall = 6–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Akron
| overall = 19–7–1
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Nevada Wolf Pack
| conf = Far Western Conference
| startyear = 1939
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1939
| name = Nevada
| overall = 5–4
| conference = 3–1
| confstanding = 2nd{{#tag:ref|The 1939 Fresno State Bulldogs football team had the best record in the Far Western Conference (FWC), but was ineligible for the conference championship because they only played two league games.{{cite news |author= |title=Pacific Reaches Tie With Nevada |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101301902/nevada-state-journal/ |newspaper=Nevada State Journal |location=Reno, Nevada |date=November 27, 1939 |page=5 |access-date=May 7, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}|group=n|name=1939season}}
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Nevada Wolf Pack
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1940
| endyear = 1945
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1940
| name = Nevada
| overall = 4–4–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1941
| name = Nevada
| overall = 3–5–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1942
| name = Nevada
| overall = 4–3–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1943
| name = Nevada
| overall = 4–1–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1944
| name = Nevada
| overall = 4–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1945
| name = Nevada
| overall = 7–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1946
| name = Nevada
| overall = 7–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Nevada
| overall = 38–26–4
| confrecord = 3–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Oregon Ducks
| conf = Pacific Coast Conference
| startyear = 1947
| endyear = 1950
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1947
| name = Oregon
| overall = 7–3
| conference = 5–1
| confstanding = T–2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1948
| name = Oregon
| overall = 9–2
| conference = 7–0
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname = Cotton
| bowloutcome = L
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = 9
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1949
| name = Oregon
| overall = 4–6
| conference = 2–5
| confstanding = T–6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1950
| name = Oregon
| overall = 1–9
| conference = 0–7
| confstanding = 9th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Oregon
| overall = 21–20
| confrecord = 14–13
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 78–53–5
| bowls = no
| poll =
| polltype = Rankings from final AP Poll
}}
Notes
{{Reflist|group=n}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|71237792}}
{{Navboxes
|list=
{{Akron Zips football coach navbox}}
{{Nevada Wolf Pack athletic director navbox}}
{{Nevada Wolf Pack football coach navbox}}
{{Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Oregon Ducks football coach navbox}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Jim}}
Category:Akron Zips football coaches
Category:American football ends
Category:Nevada Wolf Pack athletic directors
Category:Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches
Category:Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches
Category:Oregon Ducks football coaches
Category:Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players
Category:High school football coaches in Ohio
Category:High school football coaches in Pennsylvania
Category:People from Jefferson County, Ohio
Category:Sportspeople from Martins Ferry, Ohio
Category:Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia
Category:Basketball coaches from Ohio