James Davis "Country" Warren (born July 20, 1939, in

Ferriday, Louisiana Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Concordia Parish, which borders the Mississippi River and is located on the central eastern border of Louisiana, United States. With a population of 3,511 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ...

, died August 9, 2006) was a collegiate halfback and professional

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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who played twelve seasons with the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. Warren played his college ball at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, where the senior halfback was part of its 1963 Big Ten championship team. In the Rose Bowl against the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

that season, he took a pitch-out and scored a 2-yard touchdown that gave the Illini a 10–7 lead in the third quarter. The play proved to be the game-winner in a 17–7 triumph. Warren was not chosen in the 1964 AFL and NFL drafts before he signed with the Chargers as a free agent. After two productive seasons, he was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 1966 AFL expansion draft. That season would be the best of his pro career. He picked off five passes in 14 games (all starts), led the league in interception return yards (198) and represented the East squad in the All-Star Game. He spent his final six seasons with the Raiders (1970–74, 1977). He concluded his career with 25 interceptions, three fumble recoveries and four touchdowns in 140 games. After his retirement as a player, Warren coached at his alma mater Cohen College Prep High School in

Uptown New Orleans Uptown is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, encompassing a number of neighborhoods (including the similarly named and smaller Uptown area) between the French Quarter and the Jeffer ...

. Its football team advanced to the district playoffs for the first time in 25 years under his tutelage. He also coached with the Raiders, USFL's

Orlando Renegades The Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, in the United States Football League (USFL) for a single season in 1985. Before its season in Orlando, the franchise played in Wa ...

, Bethune-Cookman College,

Long Beach State University California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

and

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. In 1994, Warren was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. He died on Aug. 9, 2006, at 67 years of age.

See also