Johnny Majors
Encyclopedia
Johnny Majors is a former American football
player and coach. A standout halfback
at the University of Tennessee
, he was an All-American in 1956
and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award, in 1955 and 1956. He finished second to Paul Hornung
in voting for the Heisman Trophy
in 1956. Majors served as the head football coach at Iowa State University
(1968–1972), the University of Pittsburgh
(1973–1976, 1993–1996), and Tennessee (1977–1992), compiling a career college football
record of 185–137–10. His 1976 Pittsburgh squad
won a national championship after capping a 12–0 season with a victory in the Sugar Bowl
. Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a player in 1987.
. They won the state championship in 1951. Majors' father, Shirley Majors
, was the head coach at Huntland from 1949 to 1957. Majors also played alongside his brother, Joe, at Huntland. Another brother, Bobby, also played at Tennessee and professionally for the Cleveland Browns
.
A triple-threat
tailback
at the University of Tennessee
, one of the last schools to use the single-wing rather than some version of the T formation
, Majors was an All-American
and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy
in 1956. Majors lost the Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung
, who starred for Notre Dame
, who had a losing record (2–8). To date, this is the only time the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a player on a losing team. Many fans of college football, particularly Tennessee fans, believe that Hornung won the Heisman because he played for storied Notre Dame program, although Hornung did lead his team in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff and punt returns, punting, and passes broken up and was second in interceptions and tackles made.
Majors is a member of the Sigma Chi
fraternity. He played for the Montreal Alouettes
of the Canadian Football League
in 1957 and then became an assistant coach at several schools.
located in Ames, Iowa
and he held that position for five seasons, from 1968 until 1972. His career coaching record at Iowa state was 24–30–1. Majors ranks seventh at Iowa State in total wins and 16th in winning percentage.
in 1973. In Pittsburgh
he recruited such greats as Heisman Trophy
winner Tony Dorsett
and Matt Cavanaugh
, among others. The Panthers won the national title in 1976, after which Majors went back to his alma mater. Majors also received National Coach of the Year honors for that season.
Majors was forced to resign as Tennessee's football coach during the closing weeks of the 1992 football season. The Vols racked up a 3–0 record under interim coach Phillip Fulmer
, a longtime Majors assistant, who steered the team while Majors was recovering from heart surgery. After the Vols went 2–3 following Majors' return, he suddenly was asked to resign during the week leading up to Tennessee's game at Memphis State
. Some believe that Majors was forced out in order to make room for Fulmer, who had become more popular with a majority of fans following his success as interim coach. A Knoxville News Sentinel
story reported that Fulmer allegedly exchanged 26 telephone calls while Majors was recuperating from heart surgery with Tennessee Athletics Board member, Bill Johnson, who had played with Majors in the mid-1950s at Tennessee. A strong contingent within the Tennessee fan base believe that the Majors firing was the result of behind the scenes maneuvering on the part of Fulmer, Johnson, athletics director Doug Dickey
, university president Joe Johnson. The other strong contingent believes that Majors created his own problems in the summer of 1992 by, among other things, complaining about his current contract with during a preseason publicity tour across the state.
to once again coach the Panthers. Throughout the mid-1990s Majors tried to recreate the magic of 1976 at Pitt but achieved little success. He retired from coaching following the 1996 NCAA season and served at Pitt in the position of Special Assistant to the Athletic Director and Chancellor until the summer of 2007. A room on the second floor of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association
adjacent to Pitt's campus is dedicated to him and displays memorabilia from his career. Majors now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife Mary Lynn.
named a street after Majors. The street is on the campus of the University of Tennessee and is the location of the school's practice facility. Actor Lee Majors
borrowed Majors' last name to form his stage name. According to one published account, Lee, who real name Harvey Lee Yeary, met Majors in his youth while Majors was a football player at Tennessee, and they became friends. The two are not actually related, although Lee Majors was regularly seen on the sidelines during Johnny Majors' tenure at Pittburgh and during the early days at Tennessee.
* Three early games and the Bowl game are credited to Phillip Fulmer
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. A standout halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, he was an All-American in 1956
1956 College Football All-America Team
The 1956 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1956...
and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award, in 1955 and 1956. He finished second to Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
in voting for the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1956. Majors served as the head football coach at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
(1968–1972), the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
(1973–1976, 1993–1996), and Tennessee (1977–1992), compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 185–137–10. His 1976 Pittsburgh squad
1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team
The 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1976 college football season and is recognized as that season's consensus National Champions...
won a national championship after capping a 12–0 season with a victory in the Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
. Majors was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
as a player in 1987.
Playing career
Majors played high school football for the Huntland Hornets of Franklin County, TennesseeFranklin County, Tennessee
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. They won the state championship in 1951. Majors' father, Shirley Majors
Shirley Majors
-External links:*...
, was the head coach at Huntland from 1949 to 1957. Majors also played alongside his brother, Joe, at Huntland. Another brother, Bobby, also played at Tennessee and professionally for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
A triple-threat
Triple threat man
In gridiron football, the phrase triple-threat man refers to a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player....
tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, one of the last schools to use the single-wing rather than some version of the T formation
T formation
In American football, a T formation is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterback, forming the shape of a "T"....
, Majors was an All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1956. Majors lost the Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
, who starred for Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, who had a losing record (2–8). To date, this is the only time the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a player on a losing team. Many fans of college football, particularly Tennessee fans, believe that Hornung won the Heisman because he played for storied Notre Dame program, although Hornung did lead his team in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff and punt returns, punting, and passes broken up and was second in interceptions and tackles made.
Majors is a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
fraternity. He played for the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
in 1957 and then became an assistant coach at several schools.
Iowa State
Majors was the 24th head football coach for the Iowa State University CyclonesIowa State Cyclones football
The Iowa State Cyclones football team represents Iowa State University in college football. The Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. ISU started playing football in 1892, however, it did not become an official sport until 1894...
located in Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
and he held that position for five seasons, from 1968 until 1972. His career coaching record at Iowa state was 24–30–1. Majors ranks seventh at Iowa State in total wins and 16th in winning percentage.
Pittsburgh
After Iowa State, Majors found his greatest success as coach of the University of Pittsburgh PanthersUniversity of Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams of University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students...
in 1973. In Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
he recruited such greats as Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner Tony Dorsett
Tony Dorsett
Anthony "Tony" Drew Dorsett is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.-Early years:...
and Matt Cavanaugh
Matt Cavanaugh
Matthew Andrew Cavanaugh is a former American football quarterback in the NFL who played from 1978 to 1991. In the course of his career as a professional football player, he earned two Super Bowl rings...
, among others. The Panthers won the national title in 1976, after which Majors went back to his alma mater. Majors also received National Coach of the Year honors for that season.
Tennessee
At Tennessee, Majors achieved success in the 1980s and early 1990s winning three SEC championships (in 1985, 1989 and 1990), but falling short of a national title. In 1989, the Majors-led Vols followed a 5–6 season with a 11–1 season, the largest turnaround of the year.Majors was forced to resign as Tennessee's football coach during the closing weeks of the 1992 football season. The Vols racked up a 3–0 record under interim coach Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer is a TV college football analyst and the former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, who compiled a 152–52 record from 1992–2008 as head coach, but was fired during a 5–7 season in 2008...
, a longtime Majors assistant, who steered the team while Majors was recovering from heart surgery. After the Vols went 2–3 following Majors' return, he suddenly was asked to resign during the week leading up to Tennessee's game at Memphis State
Memphis Tigers football
The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Tigers compete in Conference USA...
. Some believe that Majors was forced out in order to make room for Fulmer, who had become more popular with a majority of fans following his success as interim coach. A Knoxville News Sentinel
Knoxville News Sentinel
The Knoxville News Sentinel is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. It operates , an award-winning news website....
story reported that Fulmer allegedly exchanged 26 telephone calls while Majors was recuperating from heart surgery with Tennessee Athletics Board member, Bill Johnson, who had played with Majors in the mid-1950s at Tennessee. A strong contingent within the Tennessee fan base believe that the Majors firing was the result of behind the scenes maneuvering on the part of Fulmer, Johnson, athletics director Doug Dickey
Doug Dickey
Douglas Adair "Doug" Dickey is a former American college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where he played college football...
, university president Joe Johnson. The other strong contingent believes that Majors created his own problems in the summer of 1992 by, among other things, complaining about his current contract with during a preseason publicity tour across the state.
Return to Pittsburgh
After being forced to resign at Tennessee, he returned to his second home of PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
to once again coach the Panthers. Throughout the mid-1990s Majors tried to recreate the magic of 1976 at Pitt but achieved little success. He retired from coaching following the 1996 NCAA season and served at Pitt in the position of Special Assistant to the Athletic Director and Chancellor until the summer of 2007. A room on the second floor of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
The Pittsburgh Athletic Association is a private social club and athletic club in in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Its clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
adjacent to Pitt's campus is dedicated to him and displays memorabilia from his career. Majors now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife Mary Lynn.
Honors
The city of Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
named a street after Majors. The street is on the campus of the University of Tennessee and is the location of the school's practice facility. Actor Lee Majors
Lee Majors
Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
borrowed Majors' last name to form his stage name. According to one published account, Lee, who real name Harvey Lee Yeary, met Majors in his youth while Majors was a football player at Tennessee, and they became friends. The two are not actually related, although Lee Majors was regularly seen on the sidelines during Johnny Majors' tenure at Pittburgh and during the early days at Tennessee.
Head coaching record
Phillip Fulmer
Phillip Fulmer is a TV college football analyst and the former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, who compiled a 152–52 record from 1992–2008 as head coach, but was fired during a 5–7 season in 2008...
.