Homer Norton

Homer Norton

Norton, circa 1945
Biographical details
Born	(1896-12-30)December 30, 1896 Carrollton, Alabama, U.S.
Died	May 26, 1965(1965-05-26) (aged 68) College Station, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1916	Birmingham
Basketball
1915–1916	Birmingham
Baseball
1916	Birmingham
1916–1919	Birmingham Barons
1920	Greensboro Patriots
1921	Lakeland Highlanders
Position(s)	End (football) Outfielder (baseball)
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)

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 1939 National Football Champions 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.

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.

Norton died of a heart attack on May 26, 1965, in College Station, Texas.^[2]

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	2–1–1	T–8th
1929	Centenary	6–3–1	1–0	T–6th
1930	Centenary	8–1–1	2–0	T–4th
1931	Centenary	5–5	3–0	3rd
1932	Centenary	8–0–1	1–0	6th
1933	Centenary	8–0–4	3–0	3rd	T Dixie Classic
Centenary:		61–22–9	21–1–1
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
^#Rankings from final AP Poll.

References

1. Glory Years of Football, Centenary College of Louisiana, 1922-1942. Centenary College of Louisiana. 2000.
2. Barroquere, Pete (May 27, 1965). "Former Centenary, Aggie Grid Coach Dies in Texas". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. D1. Retrieved July 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .

External links

• Homer Norton at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Homer Norton at Find a Grave