Harry Rupert "Big Jeff" Jefferson (May 12, 1899 – April 24, 1966)[11] was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Wilberforce University (1923), Bluefield State College (1925–1929, 1932–1933), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (1930–1931), Virginia State University (1934–1948), Hampton University (1949–1959), compiling a career college football coaching record of 173–92–25. Jefferson led his teams to black college football national championships in 1927, 1928, and 1936.[12] Jefferson was the first chairman and charter member of the National Athletic Steering Committee (NASC) in 1951.[13] Later, Jefferson served as president of the NASC in 1957 and was honorary president in 1959. Jefferson was also honored by the NASC in 1958 for 35 years "contributed to the development of youth through athletic coaching and administration."[14] Jefferson was also the first commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in 1961.[15] In college, he was a founding member of the Phi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Ohio University.[16] Jefferson died of a heart attack, on April 24, 1966, at Mercy Douglas Hospital in Philadelphia.[17] His funeral was held at Arlington National Cemetery.[18]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1899 Parkersburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | April 24, 1966 (aged 66) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1917 | West Virginia State |
| 1918–1921 | Ohio |
| Position(s) | Guard, center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1922[1] | Kelly Miller HS (WV) |
| 1923 | Wilberforce |
| 1924[2] | Kelly Miller HS (WV) |
| 1925–1929 | Bluefield |
| 1930–1931 | North Carolina A&T |
| 1932–1933 | Bluefield State |
| 1934–1948 | Virginia State |
| 1949–1956 | Hampton |
| Basketball | |
| 1924 | Kelly Miller HS (WV) |
| 1934–1949 | Virginia State |
| Baseball | |
| 1924[3] | Wilberforce |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1924–1925 | Kelly Miller HS (WV) |
| 1925–1930[4] | Bluefield State |
| 1930–1932 | North Carolina A&T |
| 1932–1934 | Bluefield State |
| 1949–1957 | Hampton |
| 1961–1965 | CIAA (commissioner) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 173–92–25 (college football) |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 black college national (1927, 1928, 1936) 2 MAA (1927–1928) 4 CIAA (1936, 1938, 1939, 1945) | |
| Awards | |
| All-Ohio center (1921)[5] NAIA Hall of Fame (1961)[6] Virginia State University Hall of Fame (1980)[7] CIAA Hall of Fame (1982)[8] Bluefield State Hall of Fame (teams) (2008)[9] AFCA Trailblazer Award (2010)[10] | |
Head coaching record edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilberforce Green Wave (Independent) (1923) | |||||||||
| 1923 | Wilberforce | 3–2 | |||||||
| Wilberforce: | 3–2 | ||||||||
| Bluefield Big Blue (Independent) (1925) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Bluefield | 2–2–1 | |||||||
| Bluefield Big Blue (Midwest Athletic Association) (1926–1929) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Bluefield | 3–2 | |||||||
| 1927 | Bluefield | 8–0–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1928 | Bluefield | 8–0–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1929 | Bluefield | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| North Carolina A&T Aggies[19] (Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association[20]) (1930–1931) | |||||||||
| 1930 | North Carolina A&T | 3–6–1 | 3–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1931 | North Carolina A&T | 3–5 | 3–5 | 7th | |||||
| North Carolina A&T: | 6–11–1 | 6–10–1 | |||||||
| Bluefield State Big Blues (Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1932–1933) | |||||||||
| 1932 | Bluefield State | 4–4–1 | 3–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1933 | Bluefield State | 6–2–2 | 4–1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Bluefield / Bluefield State: | 37–12–7 | 7–3–2 | |||||||
| Virginia State Trojans[21] (Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1934–1948) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Virginia State | 3–5–2 | 3–3–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1935 | Virginia State | 6–3–1 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1936 | Virginia State | 9–0–2 | 6–0–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1937 | Virginia State | 8–1 | 7–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1938 | Virginia State | 7–0–1 | 6–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1939 | Virginia State | 7–1–1 | 7–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1940 | Virginia State | 3–3–2 | 2–3–2 | 7th | |||||
| 1941 | Virginia State | 5–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1942 | Virginia State | 7–2–1 | 5–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1943 | Virginia State | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1944 | Virginia State | 7–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1945 | Virginia State | 8–0–2 | 6–0–1 | 1st | W Piedmont Tobacco | ||||
| 1946 | Virginia State | 7–2 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1947 | Virginia State | 10–1 | 7–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1948 | Virginia State | 5–3 | 5–3 | 6th | |||||
| Virginia State: | 95–26–14 | 74–23–12 | |||||||
| Hampton Pirates[22] (Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association / Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1949–1956) | |||||||||
| 1949 | Hampton | 5–4 | 3–4 | 9th | |||||
| 1950 | Hampton | 2–7 | 2–5 | 13th | |||||
| 1951 | Hampton | 5–4 | 4–4 | 7th | |||||
| 1952 | Hampton | 4–5 | 4–4 | 8th | |||||
| 1953 | Hampton | 6–3–1 | 5–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1954 | Hampton | 4–5–1 | 4–5–1 | 9th | |||||
| 1955 | Hampton | 4–6 | 4–6 | 11th | |||||
| 1956 | Hampton | 2–7–1 | 2–7–1 | 12th | |||||
| Hampton: | 32–41–3 | 28–38–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 173–92–25 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References edit
- ^ Ohio University Bulletin, November 1922, Ohio University, November 1922, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ "Jefferson Resigns Coach at Wilberforce", New York Age, p. 6, July 26, 1924
- ^ "Kelly Miller Highly Favored to Win Title", Pittsburgh Courier, p. 7, March 21, 1925
- ^ "Institute May Face Stiff Foe in Bluefield", Pittsburgh Courier, p. 14, October 3, 1925
- ^ Athena, 1922, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ NAIA Hall of Fame, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ Virginia State University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ CIAA Hall of Fame Members, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ BSC Hall of Fame Inductees, retrieved May 19, 2019
- ^ AFCA Awards, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ "Jefferson, Harry Rupert". ANC Explorer. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Legendary BSC coach Jefferson honored by AFCA", Bluefield Daily Telegraph, November 18, 2010, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ "Trailblazer Award Recipient For 2010 – Former HBCU Coach", HBCU Lifestyle - Black College Living, November 17, 2010, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ "Jefferson Is Elected to NAIA Hall-of-Fame", Pittsburgh Courier, p. 40, December 16, 1961
- ^ "Name Coach Harry Jefferson CIAA Commissioner", Jet, Johnson Publishing Company, July 13, 1961, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ History of Phi Chapter, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ "Jefferson Succumbs". Daily American. Somerset, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. April 25, 1966. p. 7. Retrieved January 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Arlington Rites Given Retired CIAA's "Big Jeff"", Jet, Johnson Publishing Company, May 12, 1966, retrieved May 18, 2019
- ^ 2009 North Carolina A&T Media Guide History (PDF), p. 135, retrieved May 19, 2019
- ^ 2017 CIAA Football Media Guide (PDF), pp. 125–128, retrieved May 19, 2019
- ^ Virginia State University football All-Time Results (PDF), retrieved May 19, 2019
- ^ 2018 Hampton Football Media Guide (PDF), p. 88, retrieved May 19, 2019
