James William Cole (August 14, 1927 – March 1, 2014) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and player. As a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, he was a member of teams that won 31 consecutive games under head coach

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

. Cole served as the head football coach at

Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members. History SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Te ...

from 1958 to 1963 and

Northwestern Oklahoma State University Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) is a public university in Alva, Oklahoma, with satellite campuses in Enid and Woodward. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. History In 1897, a normal school, or school for teachers, wa ...

from 1968 to 1971. Cole played football at Hollis High School in

Hollis, Oklahoma Hollis is a city in and the county seat of Harmon County, Oklahoma, Harmon County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,060 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. History The city was named for George W. Hollis, a local busine ...

before graduating 1947. At Oklahoma, he played as a tackle. Following his graduation from Oklahoma, Cole assisted with coaching the freshman football team at his alma mater. After serving in the military, he was appointed line coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State in June 1954, serving for four seasons under Joe Metcalf before succeeding him as head coach in January 1958.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, J. W. 1927 births 2014 deaths American football tackles Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Oklahoma Sooners football players Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs football coaches People from Hollis, Oklahoma Coaches of American football from Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma