 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-06-10)June 10, 1921 Paris, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | September 17, 2024(2024-09-17) (aged 103) Paris, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1942, 1946–1948 | Murray State |
| Position(s) | Left guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1949–1950 | Fulton HS (KY) (assistant) |
| 1951–1955 | Murray State (assistant) |
| 1956–1959 | Murray State |
| 1961–1963 | Eastern Kentucky (DC) |
| 1964–1965 | Appalachian State (backfield) |
| 1966–1968 | Grove HS (TN) (HC/DC) |
| 1969–1970 | Henry County HS (TN) |
| 1973–1977 | North Stanley HS (NC) |
| 1978 | Guilford (DL) |
| 1979 | Cawood HS (KY) (assistant) |
| 1980–1988 | Cawood HS (KY) |
| 1989–? | Tennessee Wesleyan (assistant) |
| c. 1990 | UPFL team |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 12–26–1 (college) |
Owen James Cullivan Jr. (June 10, 1921 – September 17, 2024) was anAmerican football coach. He served as the head football coach atMurray State University from 1956 to 1959, compiling a record of 12–26–1, and had a coaching career that spanned over 40 years. He playedcollege football for Murray State, and was on their1948 championship team.
Cullivan was born on June 10, 1921, and grew up inParis, Tennessee.[1] He attendedGrove High School there, playing on their championship football team in 1940. In 1942, and from 1946 to 1948, he playedcollege football forMurray State, and wasleft guard for their1948 conference championship team.[2] He missed seasons between 1943 and 1945 due to serving in theUnited States Army inWorld War II.[3]
After graduating college with abachelor's andmaster's degree, Cullivan started a coaching career, being named assistant atFulton High School inKentucky in 1949.[1][4] After two years there, he returned to hisalma mater Murray State as an assistant coach.[5] When head coachFred Faurot resigned in 1956, Cullivan was named the replacement.[6] He finished his first season as head with a 6–4 record, with three of the four losses coming by one point.[7]
His team compiled a 3–5–1 record in1957, a 3–7 record in1958, and a winless 0–10 in the following, leading to his firing in January 1960.[8][9]
After leaving Murray State, Cullivan took a year off from coaching to work on adoctorate fromUniversity of Indiana.[10] In 1961, he was hired by Eastern Kentucky State College (nowEastern Kentucky University) asdefensive coordinator.[11] He resigned in 1964 to joinAppalachian State University. He served asbackfield coach for two years, and was associate professor of health and physical education.[12]
After two seasons with Appalachian State, he was signed by Grove High School in 1966 as defensive coordinator and head coach. While there, he coached his three sons, Jim, Bill, and Pat.[1] When the school closed in 1969, he moved to its successor,[13]Henry County High School, where he served for the next two years as their first football coach.[1]
He retired after 1970, and sat out the next two years. He returned in 1973 as coach ofNorth Stanley High School inNorth Carolina, saying, "I sat out (of coaching) two years, but I got restless. Raising cattle didn't work out."[10] He left after five years, returning to college coaching with theGuilford Quakers asdefensive line coach in 1978. He moved back to the high school level in 1979, joiningCawood High School in Kentucky as an assistant.[14] He was promoted to head coach in 1980, and posted a 65–21 football record in nine seasons. He helped them achieve two undefeated years and seven playoff berths.[1] In 1985, he was awardedThe Courier-Journal's annual Coach of the Year award.[14]
Cullivan left the school in 1989 to become an assistant coach forTennessee Wesleyan.[15] After a stint with them, he had a short stay with a team in theUnited Professional Football League (UPFL) before retiring.[1]
Cullivanturned 100 on June 10, 2021,[1] and died on September 17, 2024, at the age of 103.[16]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray State Thoroughbreds(Ohio Valley Conference)(1956–1959) | |||||||||
| 1956 | Murray State | 6–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1957 | Murray State | 3–5–1 | 1–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1958 | Murray State | 3–7 | 2–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1959 | Murray State | 0–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Murray State: | 12–26–1 | 6–14–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 12–26–1 | ||||||||
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