Jim Spavital

Infobox Pro Football player


DateOfBirth=birth date|1926|9|15
Birthplace=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
DateOfDeath=
Position=Fullback
College=Oklahoma A&M
DraftedYear=1948
DraftedRound=first
DatabaseFootball=SPAVIJIM01
PFR=
ProBowls=
Honors=
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years=1949
1950
1951-1953
teams=Los Angeles Dons
Baltimore Colts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

James J. Spavital (born September 15, 1926 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a former fullback, coach and general manager in six different professional football leagues.

Playing career

He played for the Los Angeles Dons in 1949 and the Baltimore Colts during the 1950 season. As a starter in 1950 he had 246 rushing yards and 238 receiving. His 96 yard rush against the Green Bay Packers on November 5, 1950 is the fourth longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. In 1951 he moved north of the border to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1953, but returned to the Bombers before the end of the season.

Coaching career

In 1957 he joined the Oklahoma State coaching staff under coach Cliff Speegle. In 1967 he joined the Edmonton Eskimos as an assistant. In 1970 he was hired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as head coach. In four seasons as Bombers head coach, he had a 23-39-2 record and two playoff appearances.

In 1974 he was hired as head coach of the Chicago Fire of the World Football League. The team finished 7-13 and folded after the season.

In 1975 he joined Forrest Gregg's Cleveland Browns coaching staff. The following season he was the offensive backfield coach for San Francisco 49ers coach Monte Clark.

In 1977 he returned to the CFL as an assistant coach with the Calgary Stampeders, rejoining a fellow assistant from Edmonton, Jack Gotta. In 1981 he was hired as general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

He left the Roughriders after the season to join the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League. In the league's first year, the Panthers won the USFL championship, defeating the Philadelphia Stars 24-22. On September 9 1983 he resigned his post as Panthers GM. In 1989 Spavital was hired by Bill and Hubie Byrne to help put together a new professional football league to begin play in the spring or summer of 1990. Spavital was the director of football operations for the National Spring Football League for two years before plans for the league were abandoned.

Jim's son Steve was the defensive coordinator at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 14 years and quit when he was not promoted to Head Coach in 2005.