Where did Jim Tatum coach before he became head coach of the Maryland Terrapins?
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From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season. Tatum had created both success and controversy during his one season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. During his nine-year tenure, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in Maryland history, and the Terrapins compiled two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and as of the end of 2016, he has the highest winning percentage of any Maryland football coach who coached at least seven games. In 1954, the University of Maryland appointed a new president, Dr. Wilson Elkins, who chose to de-emphasize football. Following the 1955 season, Tatum took a pay cut to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he died four years later.
Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
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Maryland was led by fourth-year head coach Jim Tatum, who "Time" magazine called "the most successful major college coach in the game" during his nine-year tenure at College Park. To date, Tatum remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era, with a winning percentage of 0.819. The team was led on the field by sophomore quarterback and future Heisman Trophy runner-up Jack Scarbath who made his first career start in the season-opener.
1950 Maryland Terrapins football team
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After World War II, Tatum accepted a position as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. He compiled an 8–3 in 1946 record before accepting the head coaching position at the University of Maryland. Bud Wilkinson, a fellow assistant coach at the Iowa Pre-Flight School, was one of his assistants at Oklahoma and was promoted to head coach when Tatum left for Maryland.
Jim Tatum
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James M. "Big Jim" Tatum (July 22, 1913 – July 23, 1959) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1942, 1956–1958), the University of Oklahoma (1946), and the University of Maryland, College Park (1947–1955), compiling a career college football record of 100–35–7. His 1953 Maryland team won a national title. As a head coach, he employed the split-T formation with great success, a system he had learned as an assistant under Don Faurot at the Iowa Pre-Flight School during World War II. Tatum was also the head baseball coach at Cornell University from 1937 to 1939, tallying a mark of 20–40–1. Tatum's career was cut short by his untimely death in 1959. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1984.
Jim Tatum
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During his tenure at Maryland, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in school history. In nine seasons, he led the Terrapins to two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season. To date, he remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era with a winning percentage of 0.819.
Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
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Jim Tatum was hired in 1947, after a brief stint at Oklahoma where he had led the Sooners to a conference championship in his only season there. He was Maryland's sixth head coach in eight years, but Tatum stayed for nine seasons and became the school's most successful head coach in modern history. During his tenure, he led Maryland to two national championships (one retroactive), three conference championships, three perfect seasons, six top-20 final rankings, and five bowl game appearances. Seven of his players were named first-team All-Americans, including five consensus All-Americans. Under Tatum, Maryland finished every season with a winning record.
Maryland Terrapins football
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Jim Tatum was hired in 1947, after a brief stint at Oklahoma where he had led the Sooners to a conference championship in his only season there. He was Maryland's sixth head coach in eight years, but Tatum stayed for nine seasons and became the school's most successful head coach in modern history. During his tenure, he led Maryland to two national championships (one retroactive), three conference championships, three perfect seasons, six top-20 final rankings, and five bowl game appearances. Seven of his players were named first-team All-Americans, including five consensus All-Americans. Under Tatum, Maryland finished every season with a winning record.
History of Maryland Terrapins football
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The 1949 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football in its 29th season as a member of the Southern Conference. Jim Tatum served as the head coach for the third season of his nine-year tenure. The team compiled a 9–1 record and received a bid to the 1950 Gator Bowl, where they defeated 20th-ranked Missouri, which was coached by Don Faurot, Tatum's former boss and the inventor of the split-T offense.
1949 Maryland Terrapins football team
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Meanwhile, Tatum resigned to take the head coaching job at Maryland with a $12,000 salary, one-third more than he made at Oklahoma, ($, adjusted for inflation). Oklahoma filled the open coaching job with Tatum's former assistant, Bud Wilkinson.
Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
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In 1945, Paul "Bear" Bryant began his long and distinguished career as a head football coach at the University of Maryland. The following year, he was replaced by Jim Tatum, a pioneer of the split T. Maryland football achieved its greatest success under Tatum, who compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and to date, he remains the winningest Maryland coach of the modern era. NCAA recognized selectors awarded Maryland the national football championship in 1951 and 1953. During Tatum's tenure from 1946 to 1955, Maryland also secured one Southern Conference championship and two Atlantic Coast Conference championships. In 1962, Darryl Hill transferred to Maryland from the United States Naval Academy, making the school the first team in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a black player. Jerry Claiborne became head coach in 1972, and led Maryland to three consecutive ACC championships from 1974 to 1976. The Terrapins finished the 1976 regular season with an undefeated 11–0 record, but lost to Houston in the Cotton Bowl Classic, which ended national championship speculation. Bobby Ross replaced Claiborne in 1982, and he repeated the feat of three consecutive ACC championships from 1983 to 1985. In 1984, Maryland quarterback Frank Reich led the Terrapins to the then greatest halftime comeback against the defending national champions, Miami. After a long bowl game drought, Ralph Friedgen was hired as head coach in 2001, and in his first season, led Maryland to the ACC championship and its first Bowl Championship Series game appearance.
Maryland Terrapins
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Maryland head coach Jim Tatum resigned on January 8, 1956, to take the same post at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he was replaced by backfield coach Tommy Mont. Mont was a former quarterback for Maryland and the Washington Redskins. Mont came with the personal recommendation of Tatum. Tatum also instructed his former players to stay at Maryland rather than follow him by transferring to North Carolina.
1956 Maryland Terrapins football team
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Jim Tatum served as the head coach for his fifth year at Maryland in the 1951 season. All told, he served a nine-year tenure at College Park and compiled a 73–15–4 record for a winning percentage of 0.819, the highest among Maryland coaches in the modern era. Tatum later gained national recognition, with "Time" magazine later calling him "the most successful major college coach in the game", and 1951 proved to be his breakout season. Tatum employed the split-T, which he had learned firsthand as the protégé of its pioneer, Don Faurot. This new offensive system sought to emulate the "two-on-one" fast break of basketball, with the aim of creating an undefended back.
1951 Maryland Terrapins football team