Jim Sutherland

For the Australian footballer, see Jim Sutherland (Australian footballer).

Jim Sutherland
Biographical details
Born(1914-08-20)August 20, 1914
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedJune 21, 1980(1980-06-21) (aged 65)
Hayden Lake, Idaho, U.S.
Playing career
1934–1936USC
Position(s)Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1937–1940Santa Monica HS (CA) (JV)
1941–1952Santa Monica HS (CA)
1953–1954California (backfield)
1955Washington (offense)
1956–1963Washington State
Head coaching record
Overall37–39–4 (college)
79–13–3 (high school)
Jim Sutherland
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Navy
Battles / warsWorld War II

James Swanson Sutherland (August 20, 1914 – June 21, 1980) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Washington State University in Pullman from 1956 to 1963, with a 37–39–4 (.488) record in eight seasons.[1][2][3] An innovator,[4] Sutherland ran a prototypical run-and-shoot offense at WSU in the early 1960s.[5]

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sutherland moved from Canada to southern California at age nine and graduated from Inglewood High School in 1933. He attended the University of Southern California (USC) and was a halfback for the Trojans from 1934 to 1936, listed at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 184 lb (83 kg).[6]

After graduating from USC in 1937, Sutherland stayed in the Los Angeles area and became a football and track coach at Santa Monica High School.[7] He was its head football coach from 1941 to 1952, with the exception of three years that he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II;[8] his record at SMHS was 79–13–3 (.847).[9]

Sutherland became a college assistant in 1953 at the University of California in Berkeley under Pappy Waldorf for two years, then moved to the University of Washington in Seattle in 1955 under head coach John Cherberg.[10][11][12]

In his final season at WSU in 1963, Sutherland's salary was $17,500, near the top for West Coast coaches.[2] After a 3–6–1 season, he voluntarily stepped down in December with a year remaining on his contract,[1][2] and then owned several automobile dealerships in Spokane.[4][13][14]

Following an extended illness, Sutherland died in 1980 at age 65 at his home in Hayden Lake, Idaho,[4][15][16][17] and was buried in Coeur d'Alene.

  1. ^ a b Johnson, Bob (December 6, 1963). "WSU in market for new coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 16.
  2. ^ a b c "Sutherland out as grid coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1963. p. 2B.
  3. ^ "Sutherland out as football coach at Washington State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 6, 1963. p. 14.
  4. ^ a b c Missildine, Harry (June 24, 1980). "WSU's Jim Sutherland - one of football's great inventors". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
  5. ^ Missildine, Harry (June 25, 1980). "Coach Sutherland saved his last invention for his final victory". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  6. ^ "Football: All-Time Lettermen, P-S". USC Athletics. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Sutherland signed for Cougar post". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). Associated Press. January 18, 1956. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Sutherland named WSC coach; Ex-U. of Washington aide gets grid job". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 18, 1956. p. 21.
  9. ^ Ripton, Ray (October 13, 1988). "A players' coach : Santa Monica's Tebb Kusserow believes football is a chance for young men to know themselves". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. ^ "Sutherland named WSC coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 18, 1956. p. 21.
  11. ^ "WSC hires Sutherland". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 18, 1956. p. 2B.
  12. ^ "Sutherland through as grid coach at Washington State". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. December 6, 1963. p. 8.
  13. ^ "Lincoln-Mercury auto dealership is changed". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). April 3, 1968. p. 5.
  14. ^ "Car firm builds winning 'team'". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 9, 1968. p. 57.
  15. ^ "Football". Milwaukee Sentinel. June 24, 1980. p. 2, part 2.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Sutherland, James S." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Funerals. June 24, 1980. p. 25.
  17. ^ "Jim Sutherland, former WSU coach, dead at 65 following long illness". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. June 24, 1980. p. 1C.