Paul Burnum (February 6, 1900 – September 14, 1981) was a coach of multiple sports at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, having served as head coach of the school's

men's 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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

teams and an assistant for 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 ...

. He was also the head football coach at Tuscaloosa High School in the university's home city of

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

, where he led the Black Bears to an undefeated record, five state championships and a pair of national championships during his five-year tenure there. After his career as a coach ended, Burnum worked in private business and served as a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. After his death in 1981, Burnum was posthumously inducted into

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fam ...

Early years

Paul Burnum was born on February 6, 1900, at Cullman, Alabama. He later attended the

, and after he graduated in 1922, Burnum began his coaching career.

Coaching career

Football

High school

After he served as an assistant coach at Denfeld High School in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

in 1922 and as head coach for two seasons at Clio High School in

Clio, Alabama Clio is a city
in Barbour County, Alabama, Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,39 ...

, Burnum began his five-year tenure with the Tuscaloosa High School Black Bears in 1925. In the season prior to his arrival, the Black Bears went winless; however, from 1925 through 1929 Burnum led Tuscaloosa to an overall record of 42 wins, zero losses and one tie (42–0–1). With his only blemish having been a 7–7

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * T ...

against

Cullman High School Cullman High School is the only public high school in the city of Cullman, Alabama as well as the largest high school in Cullman County, Alabama. The school is classified as a 6A school and belongs to the Cullman City School District. As of ...

in the final game of the 1925 season, Burnum led the Black Bears to four consecutive, undefeated seasons. For their overall efforts, the five Tuscaloosa teams coached by Burnum were retroactively recognized as state champions by The National Sports News Service. In addition to his undefeated record and later recognition as state champions, both the 1926 and 1929 teams were later selected as the winner of the

High School Football National Championship A national championship in high school football is an honor awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best high school football team in the United States. The title is a mythical national championship, since travel dema ...

. Burnum also was known for having scheduled a series of intersectional games against other to high school teams of the period. These games included victories over

Senn High School Senn High School is a public four-year high school located in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Senn is operated by the Chicago Public Schools system and was opened on 3 February 1913. The school ...

of Chicago in 1926, Lakeland High School in 1927,

McKinley Technology High School McKinley Technology High School is a public citywide 9th–12th grade high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools in Northeast Washington, D.C. The school, an offshoot of Central High School (now Cardozo Senior High School), originally ...

of Washington, D.C. in 1928 and University City High School of

University City, Missouri University City (colloquially, U. City) is an inner-ring suburb of the city of St. Louis in St. Louis County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was measured at 35,065 by the 2020 census. The city is one of the older suburbs in th ...

in 1929. His teams were so dominant that ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' printed a story that implied Tuscaloosa High was solely a feeder school for players recruited by

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, however the story was later retracted.

College

After his successful tenure as head coach at Tuscaloosa High School, Burnum was hired to serve as an assistant coach on the Alabama football team in 1930. He was personally hired by University President George H. Denny and was paid a salary of $4,000 ($ in dollars) for an initial contract of five years. He remained on staff as the freshman coach through

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

, and was promoted to the varsity as a line coach for the 1942 season. During his tenure, Burnum was known for his recruiting abilities and some of the players he helped bring to Alabama included

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

Don Hutson Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997), nicknamed "the Alabama Antelope", was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). In the era of the one-platoon football, he played a ...

Dixie Howell Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Redskin ...

and Joe Domnanovich. Burnum later resigned from his position with the Crimson Tide in February 1944.

Basketball

During his only season as head coach, he led Alabama to a record of ten wins and ten losses (10–10, 9–9 in the SEC). During the season, Burnum led the Crimson Tide to a 41–32 upset victory over

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

Foster Auditorium Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was built in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration project and has been used for Alabama basketball, women's sports (in the 1970s and 1980s ...

Head coaching record

Baseball

In March 1943, Burnum was named head baseball coach for the Crimson Tide. The 1943 squad only had five returning lettermen that were part of the previous seasons SEC Championship team. During his only season as head coach, Burnum did not lose a single series and completed the season with a record of twelve wins and six losses (12–6, 9–4 in the SEC).

Head coaching record

Later life

After his coaching career was completed in 1944, Burnum entered private business as president and general manager of Warrior Box & Lumber Company in Tuscaloosa. In December 1952, he was appointed to the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education by the City Commission to complete the term of a member who resigned from his post on the Board. He remained on the Board through July 1967 when he resigned his position due to poor health. He later died on September 14, 1981, at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa. He was posthumously inducted into

in 1982 in recognition of his contributions to sport in the state.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnum, Paul 1900 births 1981 deaths Sportspeople from Cullman, Alabama People from Clio, Alabama Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama University of Alabama alumni Coaches of American football from Alabama High school football coaches in Minnesota High school football coaches in Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Basketball coaches from Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coaches Baseball coaches from Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide baseball coaches Businesspeople from Alabama 20th-century American businesspeople