Homer Norton
Homer Hill Norton (December 30, 1896 – May 26, 1965) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Centenary College of Louisiana from 1919 to 1921 and 1926[1] to 1933 and at Texas A&M University from 1934 to 1947, compiling a career college football record of 143–75–18. His 1939 Texas A&M team went 11–0, beating Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, and was named a national champion. Norton's record at Texas A&M was 82–53–9, giving him the second most wins of any coach in Texas A&M Aggies football history. He was fired in 1947 when his team went 3–6–1 and lost to Texas for the eighth straight year. Norton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 30, 1896 Carrollton, Alabama |
| Died | May 26, 1965 (aged 68) College Station, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| Baseball | |
| 1916–1919 | Birmingham Barons |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1919–1921 | Centenary |
| 1922–1925 | Centenary (assistant) |
| 1926–1933 | Centenary |
| 1934–1947 | Texas A&M |
| Basketball | |
| 1921–1926 | Centenary |
| Baseball | |
| 1924–1928 | Centenary |
| 1943–1944 | Texas A&M |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 143–75–18 (football) 49–43 (basketball) 62–37–1 (baseball) |
| Bowls | 2–2–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 National (1939) 2 SIAA (1926–1927) 3 SWC (1939–1941) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1971 (profile) | |
Norton played four different sports at Birmingham–Southern College and played minor league baseball with the Birmingham Barons prior to becoming a coach. In addition to football, Norton also coached basketball at Centenary from 1921 to 1926 and baseball at Texas A&M from 1943 to 1944.
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centenary Gentlemen (Independent) (1919–1920) | |||||||||
| 1919 | Centenary | 1–3 | |||||||
| 1920 | Centenary | 0–1 | |||||||
| Centenary Gentlemen (Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1921) | |||||||||
| 1921 | Centenary | 3–3 | |||||||
| Centenary Gentlemen (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1926–1933) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Centenary | 6–3 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1927 | Centenary | 10–0 | 4–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1928 | Centenary | 6–3–2 | |||||||
| 1929 | Centenary | 6–3–1 | |||||||
| 1930 | Centenary | 8–1–1 | |||||||
| 1931 | Centenary | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1932 | Centenary | 8–0–1 | |||||||
| 1933 | Centenary | 8–0–4 | T Dixie Classic | ||||||
| Centenary: | 61–22–9 | ||||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1934–1947) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Texas A&M | 2–7–2 | 1–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1935 | Texas A&M | 3–7 | 1–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1936 | Texas A&M | 8–3–1 | 3–2–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1937 | Texas A&M | 5–2–2 | 2–2–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1938 | Texas A&M | 4–4–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1939 | Texas A&M | 11–0 | 6–0 | 1st | W Sugar | 1 | |||
| 1940 | Texas A&M | 9–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | W Cotton | 6 | |||
| 1941 | Texas A&M | 9–2 | 5–1 | 1st | L Cotton | 9 | |||
| 1942 | Texas A&M | 4–5–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1943 | Texas A&M | 7–2–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | L Orange | ||||
| 1944 | Texas A&M | 7–4 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1945 | Texas A&M | 6–4 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1946 | Texas A&M | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1947 | Texas A&M | 3–6–1 | 1–4–1 | T–5th | |||||
| Texas A&M: | 82–53–9 | 40–35–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 143–75–18 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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