James D. Macholtz (August 26, 1926 – April 29, 1985) was an American

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 ...

coach,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach, and educator. He was the head football coach for Anderson College—now known as Anderson University—from 1953 to 1964.

Early life and playing career

Macholtz was born in

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,856. It lies on the shore ...

, and attended St. Joseph High School. He participated in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. As a senior was awarded the bronze

Bausch and Lomb Bausch & Lomb (since 2010 stylized as Bausch + Lomb) is an American-Canadian eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intra ...

science award. He committed to play

for Anderson College—now known as Anderson University—as a halfback. In four years with the team he earned three All- Hoosier Conference honors in his final three years.

Coaching career

From 1953 to 1963, Macholtz was the head football coach for Anderson. In his eleven-year career with the school he led them to a 56–42–2 record along three Hoosier Conference titles in 1957, 1959, and 1961. His best seasons as head coach came from 1957 to 1959 as they won seven or more games with only one loss each season. Macholtz served the

coach for Anderson for 25 years.

Educator career

In 1964, Macholtz served as a

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

lecturer in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He served as a physical education specialist. Macholtz was a member of the physical education department for Anderson and was eventually the chairman for the department. In 1966, he was promoted to a full-time

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. In 1983, he became the dean of Anderson's School of Theoretical and Applied Sciences.

Personal life, military career, and death

From 1944 to 1945, Macholtz served as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

. From 1946 to 1947, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Macholtz held a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in physical education and chemistry from Anderson, a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from both the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, and a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from Indiana. Macholtz was the author of the books "Good Times Together" and "How To Be A Winning Loser." Throughout Macholtz's life he was an avid member of local churches, specifically he was the president of the International Young Fellowship. He was a member of the Park Place Church of God in

Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...

. On April 29, 1985, Macholtz died suddenly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while on a jog in

Alexandria, Indiana Alexandria is a city in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is about northeast of Indianapolis. According to the 2020 census, its population was 5,149, n ...

. Following Macholtz's death, Anderson College renamed it's athletic field in his honor to

Macholtz Stadium Macholtz Stadium is a 4,300-seat multi-purpose stadium in Anderson, Indiana. The facility opened in 1977, is located on the campus of Anderson University, and is named in honor of Dr. James Macholtz who served as coach of the Anderson Universi ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macholtz, James 1926 births 1985 deaths American Christians American football halfbacks Anderson Ravens football coaches Anderson Ravens football players College track and field coaches in Indiana Indiana University alumni United States Army soldiers University of Michigan alumni People from St. Joseph, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan