Josh Cody

Josh Cody
Cody at Clemson in 1931
Biographical details
Born(1892-06-11)June 11, 1892
Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1961(1961-06-17) (aged 69)
Mount Laurel, New Jersey, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1911–1913Bethel (KY)
1914–1916Vanderbilt
1917Camp Jackson
1919Vanderbilt
Basketball
1919–1920Vanderbilt
Position(s)Tackle (football)
Forward (basketball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1920–1922Mercer
1923–1926Vanderbilt (assistant)
1927–1930Clemson
1931–1934Vanderbilt (assistant)
1936–1939Florida
1940Temple (line)
1955Temple
Basketball
1921–1923Mercer
1923–1927Vanderbilt
1927–1931Clemson
1931–1936Vanderbilt
1936–1937Florida
1942–1952Temple
Baseball
1921–1922Mercer
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1936–1939Florida
1952–1959Temple
Head coaching record
Overall55–62–3 (football)
273–272 (basketball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football:
SIAA (as player, 1915)
Basketball:
SIAA (as player, 1920)
SIAA (as coach, 1922)
SoCon tournament (1927)
Awards
All-Southern (1914, 1915, 1916, 1919)
2× Third-team All-American (1915, 1919)
Outing Roll of Honor (1914)
Porter Cup (1920)
AP Southeast All-Time team (1869–1919)
FWAA All-time All-America Team (1869–1918)
One of Dan McGugin's six best players
1934 All-time Vandy team
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1970 (profile)

Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. "Josh" Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he earned 13 letters playing several sports.

As a versatile tackle and blocker on the Vanderbilt Commodores football team, he was a three-time All-American. During his four years on the team, Cody helped Vanderbilt score 1,099 points, winning 23 of 35 games.[1]

In 1969, Cody was named by the Football Writers Association of America to the 1869–1918 Early Era All-American Team. He was inducted as a player into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970. Coach Charley Moran called Cody the greatest tackle ever to play in the South.

After graduation from Vanderbilt, Cody coached college football and basketball and served as the athletics director at various universities, including: Clemson University, the University of Florida and Temple University. He also was an assistant for head football coaches Dan McGugin and Ray Morrison at Vanderbilt.

Cody coached three different schools in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (S.I.A.A.) basketball tournament. His Vanderbilt team won the tournament in 1927.[2]

During the late 1950s, Cody was a seminal athletic director in the fight against racial segregation in sports, particularly in the southern US.

Cody was one of the early basketball coaches who could claim a personal relationship with Dr. James A. Naismith, the inventor of the game.[3]

  1. ^ "Josh Cody: Member Biography". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "History of the Early S.I.A.A. Atlanta Basketball Tournament". www.bigbluehistory.net. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Josh Cody Dies of Heart Attack". The Atlanta Journal. June 19, 1961.