James Roland Kitts (June 14, 1900 – December 13, 1952) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as head football coach at the University of Dallas from 1924 to 1925, Rice Institute—now known as Rice University–from 1934 to 1939, and at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI)—now known as Virginia Tech—in 1941 and from 1946 to 1947. Kitts was also the head basketball coach at Rice from 1932 to 1938, tallying a mark of 58–56, and the head baseball coach at Dallas from 1924 to 1926 amassing a record of 26–15.[1] Kitts was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1956.[2]
 Kitts, c. 1940 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 14, 1900 Dallas County, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | December 13, 1952 (aged 52) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1918–1921 | SMU |
| Basketball | |
| 1919–1922 | SMU |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1924–1925 | Dallas |
| 1926–1929 | Athens HS (TX) |
| 1931–1933 | Rice (freshmen) |
| 1934–1939 | Rice |
| 1941 | VPI |
| 1943–1944 | Ottumwa NAS |
| 1946–1947 | VPI |
| Basketball | |
| 1923–1926 | Dallas |
| 1926–1929 | Athens HS (TX) |
| 1932–1938 | Rice |
| Baseball | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 65–52–9 (college football) 75–73 (college basketball) 26–15 (college baseball) |
| Bowls | 1–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 2 SWC (1934, 1937) Basketball SWC (1935) | |
Coaching career edit
Kitts was hired as the head football coach at the University of Dallas in December 1923.[3]
From 1934 to 1939, Kitts coached at Rice, and compiled a 33–29–4 record. His 1934 team went 9–1–1, however his 1939 team went 1–9–1.
Death edit
Kitts died on December 13, 1952, in El Paso, Texas.[4]
Head coaching record edit
College football edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Hilltoppers (Independent) (1924–1925) | |||||||||
| 1924 | Dallas | 4–3–1 | |||||||
| 1925 | Dallas | 7–2–1 | |||||||
| Dallas: | 11–5–2 | ||||||||
| Rice Owls (Southwest Conference) (1934–1939) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Rice | 9–1–1 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1935 | Rice | 8–3 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1936 | Rice | 5–7 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1937 | Rice | 6–3–2 | 4–1–1 | 1st | W Cotton | 18 | |||
| 1938 | Rice | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1939 | Rice | 1–9–1 | 0–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| Rice: | 33–29–4 | 16–18–2 | |||||||
| VPI Gobblers (Southern Conference) (1941) | |||||||||
| 1941 | VPI | 6–4 | 4–2 | T–5th | |||||
| Ottumwa Naval Air Station Skyers (Independent) (1943–1944) | |||||||||
| 1943 | Ottumwa NAS | 5–1 | |||||||
| 1944 | Ottumwa NAS | 3–4 | |||||||
| Ottumwa NAS: | 8–5 | ||||||||
| VPI Gobblers (Southern Conference) (1946–1947) | |||||||||
| 1946 | VPI | 3–4–3 | 3–3–2 | T–7th | L Sun | ||||
| 1947 | VPI | 4–5 | 4–3 | 8th | |||||
| VPI: | 13–13–3 | 11–8–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 65–52–9 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ University of Dallas Baseball Records (accessed June 3, 2012).
- ^ Jimmy Kitts profile at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame(accessed March 19, 2020)
- ^ Gregory, Lloyd (December 15, 1923). "Sports News And Comments". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. p. 3. Retrieved August 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Former Rice Coach, Jimmy Kitts, Dies". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 15, 1952. Retrieved October 20, 2011 – via Google News.
External links edit
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