Norton, Homer H.
Football
b. June 15, 1891, Birmingham, AL
d. May 26, 1965
Norton starred in four sports at Birmingham-Southern College and played minor league baseball for three years before becoming football coach at Centenary College in 1919. He had a record of 5-7-0 in three seasons. In 1922, a new college president asked him to step down to become an assistant to Bo McMillin.
McMillin left in 1926 and Norton took over again. His 1927 team won all 10 of its games and he also had undefeated teams in 1932 and 1933, beating Texas A & M both years, along with Southern Methodist and Arkansas.
Texas A & M hired Norton in 1934. It took him two years to rebuild the program, but his 1937 won 8 games, lost 3, and tied 1, and in 1939 the Aggies won all 10 of their regular season games, beat Tulane 14-13 in the Sugar Bowl, and were named national champions.
During the next two season, Texas A & M won 17 of 19 games and went to the Cotton Bowl both times, beating Fordham 13-12 and losing to Alabama 29-21. Norton's 1943 team won 7, lost 1, and tied 1, but lost to Louisiana State 19-14 in the Cotton Bowl.
Norton won only 3 games in 1947 and lost to the University of Texas for the eighth straight time. He was fired after the season. His record at Texas A & M was 82 wins, 53 losses, and 9 ties in 14 seasons. Overall, he was 137-69-17.