James Benton Hickey (January 22, 1920 – December 27, 1997) 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 ...

and

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 ...

player, coach of football, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

from 1951 to 1955 and at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

from 1959 to 1966, compiling a career

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 ...

record of 63–56–4. Hickey was the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

from 1966 to 1969.

Education and career

Hickey graduated from

The College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institut ...

in 1942 and played wingback and tailback on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

on the

basketball team 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 ...

. He was inducted into the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame in 1971. He served as a

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He coached football at

for five years before joining the staff of

Jim Tatum James Moore "Big Jim" Tatum (August 22, 1913 – July 23, 1959) was an American college football and college baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1942, 1956–1958 ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in 1956 as an assistant. After Tatum's death in the summer of 1959, he accepted the position of head coach. Hickey was dismissed after the 1966 season and

Bill Dooley William Gerald Dooley (May 19, 1934 – August 9, 2016) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1967–1977), Virginia Polytechn ...

succeeded him as North Carolina's head coach.

Family

Hickey was the son of William and Cora Hickey. He married Agnes Pauline Small Pardue on November 14, 1976, in

Sanford, North Carolina Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 30,261 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. The geographic center of North Carolina is located northwest of the city, in Chatham County. His ...

. He died at the age of seventy-seven on December 27, 1997 and was buried at the Buffalo Cemetery in Sanford."Jim Benton Hickey" (obituary), ''The News & Observer'', December 28, 1977.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Jim 1920 births 1997 deaths American football running backs American football halfbacks Guards (basketball) UConn Huskies athletic directors Hampden–Sydney Tigers athletic directors Hampden–Sydney Tigers football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches William & Mary Tribe football players William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Players of American football from Pennsylvania People from Sanford, North Carolina American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen