Freddie James, Legendary Texas High School Football Coach Portrayed in “Friday Night Lights”, Dies at 89

Freddie James
Credit: PVAMU Office of Alumni Relations, University Advancement/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

• Freddie James, the legendary Texas high school football coach, died on Oct. 29 at age 89
• He led Dallas’ Carter High School to 139 wins between 1982 and 1995, including the legendary 1988 championship that was later stripped
• James’ coaching legacy, which included sending eight players to the NFL, also inspired two films, including Friday Night Lights

Freddie James, one of the most iconic coaches in the history of Texas high school football, has died.

The legendary coach — who established a football dynasty at Dallas’ Carter High School in the ‘80s and ‘90s, earning nationwide attention and inspiring the film Friday Night Lights — died on Thursday, Oct. 29, according to his obituary. He was 89.

James steered the Carter Cowboys as head football coach from 1982 to 1995, during which the team became a well-known powerhouse and raked in a total of 139 wins, according to USA Todayand NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. He also saw eight players reach the NFL, including New York Giants legend Jessie Armstead and Chet Brooks, who died earlier this year.

James’ championship-winning 1988 team — which included Armstead — is widely regarded as the greatest high school football team in Texas history, though the victory was later marred by controversy when the title was stripped after a player was found to be ineligible.

Freddie James in the image used in his obituary
Credit: dignitymemorial

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) formally stripped the title in 1991, per The Dallas Morning News — though James said he was not particularly bothered by the loss of the championship trophy.

“It didn’t worry me. We proved on the field who was the best. I wasn’t worried about the trophy,” the late coaching icon said, according to the News. “That’s just a thing. In the mind of the people, Carter High School was the best team.”

“We were the greatest that particular night,” added James, who was known for coaching with a lollipop in his mouth.

It was the supporters of the Carter dynasty who mattered the most to James, not the title. Per the News, he said: “A lot of people in the Carter community told me, ‘It’s just a plaque. Coach, you hold your head up high. Don’t let this put you in the grave. There’s always tomorrow.’ ”

James was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame class in 1996 as part of its inaugural class and later inducted into the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, according to the News.

The legendary Carter coach’s legacy was honored with two films inspired by his coaching career and football dynasty: 2004’s Friday Night Lights, which spawned several seasons of an acclaimed TV series, and 2015’s Carter High. James was played by Julius Tennon and Charles S. Dutton in the films, respectively.

Carter High School in Dallas, where Freddie James was a football coach in the ‘80s and ‘90s

The day after James’ death, Carter High School football honored the late coaching icon on the field, under Friday night lights, according to NBC 5.

At the game, the Dallas school’s current head coach, Spencer Gilbert, said that James “let me know that it’s not about the wins and losses; it’s about the legacy of people you impact along the way.”

“Coach James was more than a football coach,” Gilbert said, according to NBC 5. “He was a mentor, he was father, a grandfather. Everything you asked a man to do.”

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James graduated from Booker T. Washington High School with a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, where he played on the school’s 1958 national championship team at both running back and defensive back, according to his obituary. He later got his start as a coach at Spigner High School in 1964 in Calvert, Texas.

He married his college sweetheart, Eva June Jackson, who died in 2018, according to the News. He is survived by his son, Frenanda, and three grandchildren, as well as a great-granddaughter.

Read the original article on People

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.