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Billy Nicks

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Billy Nicks
Biographical details
Born(1905-08-02)August 2, 1905
Griffin, Georgia
DiedNovember 2, 1999(1999-11-02) (aged 94)
Houston, Texas
Playing career
1920sMorris Brown
Position(s)End, halfback, punter
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1930–1935Morris Brown
1937–1939Morris Brown
1941–1942Morris Brown
1945–1947Prairie View A&M
1948–1951Prairie View A&M (assistant)
1952–1965Prairie View A&M
Head coaching record
Overall192–60–21
Bowls11–4–1
Tournaments1–1 (NAIA playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
6 black college national (1941, 1953–1954, 1958, 1963–1964)
1 SIAC (1941)
7 SWAC (1952–1954, 1958, 1960, 1963–1964)
Awards
NAIA Coach of the Year (1963)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1999 (profile)

William James Nicks (August 2, 1905 – November 2, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He coached at historically black colleges in the Southern United States from 1930 to 1965. Nicks served as the head football coach at Morris Brown College in Georgia (1930–1935, 1937–1939, 1941–1942) and at Prairie View A&M University in Texas (1945–1947, 1952–1965), compiling a career college football record of 192–60–21. He was the NAIA Football Coach of the Year in 1963 and his teams were declared the black college football national champions six times. Nicks was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1999.

Coaching career

Morris Brown

Nicks took first collegiate head coaching position at his alma mater, Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. Nicks was head football coach at Morris Brown from 1930 to 1935, again from 1937 to 1939, and for two more years in 1941 and 1942. His record at Morris Brown was 65–21–13. His 1941 team was named "Black College National Champions" by Pittsburgh Courier.[1]

Prairie View A&M

Nicks was the eighth head coach at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, serving 17 seasons in two stints, from 1945 to 1947 and 1952 to 1965. His career record at Prairie View was 126–36–8—far and away the winningest coach in school history.

Nicks led the Panthers to five black college national titles and six Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. In his day, he was reckoned as the HBCU answer to Bear Bryant; indeed, his .787 winning percentage was slightly higher than Bryant's .780. This was partly because he had the pick of nearly every good black high school player in Texas in the days of segregation. A good number of them went into coaching; at one point nearly all of the black high school coaches in the state had played for him. While the end of Jim Crow caused a severe talent drain for HBCUs, Nicks was able to stem the tide for a time. He often called his former players to send their best prospects to "The Hill," and wasn't above threatening to have them fired if they didn't do so.[2] However, Prairie View's fortunes tailed off rapidly after Nicks' retirement. From 1966 to 2003, Prairie View had 14 head coaches, none of whom left "The Hill" with a winning record.

Nicks was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.[1] Nicks is buried at the Houston Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Pearland, Texas.

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Morris Brown Wolverines (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1930–1935)
1930 Morris Brown 6–2–1
1931 Morris Brown 6–3
1932 Morris Brown 6–1–1
1933 Morris Brown 5–0–3
1934 Morris Brown 7–1–2
1935 Morris Brown 3–4–2
Morris Brown Wolverines (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1937–1939)
1937 Morris Brown 6–3
1938 Morris Brown 6–2–1
1939 Morris Brown 5–2–1
Morris Brown Wolverines (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1941–1942)
1941 Morris Brown 8–1 1st W Vulcan
1942 Morris Brown 5–2–1
Morris Brown: 65–21–13
Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1945–1947)
1945 Prairie View A&M 3–5–1 1–4–1 6th W Prairie View
1946 Prairie View A&M 7–2–2 2–2–2 T–4th W Prairie View
1947 Prairie View A&M 6–6 5–2 2nd L Fruit, L Prairie View
Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1952–1965)
1952 Prairie View A&M 7–2 6–0 1st L Prairie View
1953 Prairie View A&M 12–0 6–0 1st W Orange Blossom Classic, W Prairie View
1954 Prairie View A&M 10–1 6–0 1st W Prairie View
1955 Prairie View A&M 7–2–1 5–1–1 T–2nd W Prairie View
1956 Prairie View A&M 5–5 4–2 T–3rd W Prairie View
1957 Prairie View A&M 6–3–1 4–2 T–2nd T Prairie View
1958 Prairie View A&M 10–0–1 5–0 1st W Prairie View
1959 Prairie View A&M 9–2 6–1 2nd W Prairie View
1960 Prairie View A&M 10–1 6–1 T–1st W Prairie View
1961 Prairie View A&M 5–4–1 3–4 5th
1962 Prairie View A&M 6–3 4–3 T–3rd
1963 Prairie View A&M 10–1 7–0 1st L NAIA Championship (Camellia)
1964 Prairie View A&M 9–0 7–0 1st
1965 Prairie View A&M 5–3–1 3–3–1 T–4th
Prairie View A&M: 127–39–8 80–25–5
Total: 192–60–21
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

  1. ^ a b Billy Nicks at the College Football Hall of Fame
  2. ^ Sports Illustrated/CNN "Once Upon A Time..." by John Ed Bradley, August 28, 1995
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