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ck
(68.201.146.167) on 7/17/2005 - 7:25 p.m. says: ( 4 views
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"July 17, 1980...."
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(EDITED BY AUTHOR: 7/17/2005 - 7:37 p.m.) was the day Ralph 'Shug' Jordan passed away. 
The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1972. James Ralph Jordan returned to his alma mater as head coach of the Auburn football team in 1951. He had graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1932, lettering in football, baseball, and basketball. By a vote of his teammates he was designated Auburn's Most Outstanding Athlete in 1931-32. For the next twelve years he was an assistant football coach at Auburn. During World War II Coach Jordan was in the first wave of troops in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy, where he was wounded and awarded the purple heart and the Bronze Star. Recovering from his wounds, he participated as a front line officer in the invasion of Okinawa and in the Philippine campaign. Returning to Auburn in 1945, he coached for one year before joining the coaching staff of the professional Miami Seahawks. Mid-season, 1946, he became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. After a series of losing seasons for Auburn, Coach Jordan was made head coach and produced a 5-5 record for his first year. At the end of six years he had built an outstanding team which won both Southeastern Conference and National Championships. Consistently producing good football teams, Coach Jordan was named SEC "Coach of the Year" in 1953, 1957, and 1963. During eight different seasons he was selected national "Coach of the Week," and his Auburn Tigers were invited to play in eight post-seasonal bowl games. Among his accomplishments may be listed the continuing achievements in the athletic profession of the players whom he coached. Born in Selma, Alabama, September 25, 1910, he was nicknamed Shug because of his love for sugar cane. He was married to the former Evelyn Walker of Columbia, South Carolina, and has two children, Susan Dalby and Ralph, Jr. He is now deceased. _______________________________________________________________________________________Will Collier had this to say on the bunker today...(hope he doesn't mind me flea'in it) I didn't know this about Coach Jordan... As an Army captain, Ralph Jordan led a platoon up Utah Beach on D-Day. He was wounded on the beach, and carried shrapnel in his shoulder for several days before he would let a medic treat him. He also fought in the invasions of North Africa (Oran), Sicily (he was in the first group to land, with Patton and the 7th Army), Italy (Salerno, also with Patton), and then Okinawa in the Asian theater, the bloodiest battle of the entire war.
Paul Bryant, granted a special commission along with several other college coaches, coached stateside base football teams for the Navy in the V-5 Corps. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ I had an opportunity to view Coach Jordan's final Auburn Football Review show a few weeks back and, having not seen or heard him speaking for some time, was really taken back realizing how far removed the current coaching fraternity is from the kind of coach that Jordan, and others, were. Just in the way they approached things publicly, mannerisms and such. My, how things have changed since that day and time. I did find this link where there are some video clips on it offering just a sampling of his old show. Just in case you want to take a look at them. http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=2750111 Alabama Sports Hall Of Fame..... James Ralph "Shug" Jordan
Class of 1969
Born: 9/25/1910
Died: 7/18/1980
Birthplace: Selma, AL
James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was born September 25, 1910, in Selma, Alabama. As an Auburn athlete, he was called "Lefty" because that's how he pitched, shot baskets and snapped the football. After graduation, he stayed on with the Auburn coaching staff until World War II interrupted. After moving to the Miami Seahawks and the University of Georgia for a few years, Jordan returned to his alma mater. The Jordan Era began in 1951. His teams won 175 games, 24 without a loss from 1956-58, won a national championship in 1957 and went to 12 bowls before he retired in 1975. "Shug" produced 20 All-Americans; he coached Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, and Zeke Smith, Outland Trophy recipient. Coach Jordan died July 18, 1980. Another article on Jordan http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OAN%2FMGArticle%2FOAN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783892417&path=%21sports%21index.html
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