Homer Norton
Homer Norton went 143–75–18 as a head coach, 1919–1947, at Centenary and Texas A&M. His 1939 Texas A&M team claims the national title. Share
Seven seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1919–21, 1926–29 at Centenary (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 143–75–18 career
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1939
- Hall of Fame
- 1971 inducted
- Best season
- 1939 11–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Centenary * | 1–3 | ||||
| 1920 | Centenary * | 0–1 | ||||
| 1921 | Centenary * | 3–3 | ||||
| 1922–25: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1926 | Centenary * | 6–3 | 1st | |||
| 1927 | Centenary * | 10–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1928 | Centenary * | 6–3–2 | T–8th | |||
| 1929 | Centenary * | 6–3–1 | T–6th | |||
| 1930 | Centenary (LA) | 8–1–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1931 | Centenary (LA) | 5–5 | 3rd | |||
| 1932 | Centenary (LA) | 8–0–1 | 6th | |||
| 1933 | Centenary (LA) | 8–0–4 | 3rd | Dixie Classic T | ||
| 1934 | Texas A&M | 2–7–2 | 6th | |||
| 1935 | Texas A&M | 3–7 | 7th | |||
| 1936 | Texas A&M | 8–3–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1937 | Texas A&M | 5–2–2 | 5th | |||
| 1938 | Texas A&M | 4–4–1 | 5th | |||
| 1939 | Texas A&M | 11–0 | 1st | Sugar Bowl W | 1 | |
| 1940 | Texas A&M | 9–1 | T–1st | Cotton Bowl W | 6 | |
| 1941 | Texas A&M | 9–2 | 1st | Cotton Bowl L | 9 | |
| 1942 | Texas A&M | 4–5–1 | 5th | |||
| 1943 | Texas A&M | 7–2–1 | 2nd | Orange Bowl L | ||
| 1944 | Texas A&M | 7–4 | T–4th | |||
| 1945 | Texas A&M | 6–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1946 | Texas A&M | 4–6 | 4th | |||
| 1947 | Texas A&M | 3–6–1 | T–5th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Joe RouttConsensus All‑American, 1937- Marshall RobnettConsensus All‑American, 1940
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 22 | 7–13–2 | 36% |
| Against top-10 teams | 5 | 1–4 | 20% |
| Against rivals | 67 | 30–32–5 | 49% |
| Conference games | 82 | 40–35–7 | 53% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 5 | 2–2–1 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 74 | 29–30–15 | 49% |
| At home | 92 | 63–23–6 | 72% |
| On the road | 84 | 42–34–8 | 55% |
| At neutral sites | 9 | 6–2–1 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 119 | 89–25–5 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 66 | 22–34–10 | 41% |
His own 185 games on file, 1930–1947, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Bell 1930–1947 | 9–5 | Texas A&M, SMU | 14 | |
| Dutch Meyer 1934–1947 | 6–7–1 | TCU | 14 | |
| Fred Thomsen 1930–1941 | 5–4–3 | Arkansas | 12 | |
| Morley Jennings 1930–1940 | 6–2–2 | Baylor | 10 | |
| Dana Bible 1937–1946 | 2–8 | Texas | 10 | |
| Jess Neely 1940–1947 | 4–3–1 | Rice | 8 | |
| Bernie Moore 1942–1947 | 2–5 | LSU | 7 | |
| Dell Morgan 1942–1947 | 5–1 | Texas Tech | 6 | |
| Jimmy Kitts 1934–1939 | 3–2–1 | Rice | 6 | |
| Frank Kimbrough 1941–1946 | 3–1 | Baylor | 4 |
Homer Norton’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansasseries | 18 | 8–6–4 |
| Texasseries | 18 | 4–12–2 |
| SMUseries | 17 | 12–5 |
| Baylorseries | 15 | 10–3–2 |
| TCUseries | 15 | 6–7–2 |
| Riceseries | 14 | 7–5–2 |
| LSUseries | 9 | 3–5–1 |
| Texas Techseries | 6 | 5–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919–21 | Centenary | Head coach | |
| 1922–25 | Centenary | Assistant coach | |
| 1926–33 | Centenary | Head coach | |
| 1930–33 | Centenary (LA) | Head coach | |
| 1934–47 | Texas A&M | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bo McMillinCentenary
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jules SikesKansas, Blinn, Burleson, East Texas A&M
- Harry StitelerTexas A&M
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo McMillin | Centenary | 1922–24 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jules Sikes | Texas A&M, 1935–37: assistant coach | Kansas, Blinn, Burleson, East Texas A&M | |
| Harry Stiteler | Texas A&M, 1947: backfield coach | Texas A&M |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.