Longtime Head Coach Edward Clemons Selected as the 2023 AFCA Trailblazer Award Recipient
November 21, 2023
Edward Clemons, former head coach at Edward Waters, Lane, Morris Brown, and Jackson State, has been named the American Football Coaches Association’s recipient of the 2023 Trailblazer Award. The award will be presented, posthumously, to Clemons during the AFCA Honors Luncheon on Monday, January 8, at the 2024 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
The AFCA Trailblazer Award was created to honor early leaders in the football coaching profession who coached at historically black colleges and universities. Past Trailblazer Award winners include Charles Williams, Hampton (2004); Cleve Abbott, Tuskegee (2005); Arnett Mumford, Southern (2006); Billy Nicks, Prairie View A&M (2007); Alonzo “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M (2008); Fred “Pops” Long, Wiley (2009); Harry R. “Big Jeff” Jefferson, Bluefield State (2010); Edward P. Hurt, Morgan State (2011); Vernon “Skip” McCain, Maryland-Eastern Shore (2012); Marino Casem, Alcorn State (2013); Gideon Smith, Hampton (2014); Eddie Robinson, Grambling State (2015); Oree Banks, South Carolina State and West Virginia State (2016); John Merritt, Jackson State and Tennessee State (2017); Earl Banks, Morgan State (2018); Bill Hayes, Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T (2019); Edward Jackson, Delaware State, Johnson C. Smith and Howard (2021); and Henry Kean, Kentucky State and Tennessee State (2022).
Clemons played college football at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, from 1922 to 1924 before transferring to Morris Brown College and playing alongside 2007 Trailblazer winner, Billy Nicks. Clemons earned his degree from Morris Brown, where he later became their head football coach from 1950 to 1962.
Clemons’s collegiate coaching career began in 1929 at Edward Waters. He guided the Tigers for four years before moving on to Lane College in 1934. Clemons led the Dragons for 12 years, with a three-year gap from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. Records are inaccurate, but Clemons produced winning seasons from 1938 to 1942, then after the war, guided Lane to an 8-2 mark and an appearance in the Cattle Bowl in 1946. After a 6-4 record and a second straight bowl appearance, Clemons’ final team at Lane went 7-1-1 in 1948.
After leaving Lane in 1948, Clemons took over head coaching duties for his alma mater, Morris Brown in 1950. He earned an overall record of 72-45-2 and guided the Wolverines to a 10-1 record in 1951, going 8-0 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and taking home his only Black College National Championship. Clemons led Morris Brown to 10 winning seasons during his 13 years as head coach, producing a second-place finish in the SIAC in 1955.
Clemons left Morris Brown for Jackson State in 1963, going 4-5 in his only season as head coach of the Tigers. He returned to Edward Waters in 1965, leading them to a 7-2 record in his final season as a head coach. Clemons, also known as “Ox,” died in March 1966, in Jacksonville, Florida. He will always be remembered as a highly respected and beloved American football coach who impacted the lives of his student-athletes daily.
n Monday, January 8, at the 2024 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
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Edward Clemons, former head coach at Edward Waters, Lane, Morris Brown, and Jackson State, has been named the American Football Coaches Association’s recipient of the 2023 Trailblazer Award. The award will be presented, posthumously, to Clemons during the AFCA Honors Luncheon on Monday, January 8, at the 2024 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
The AFCA Trailblazer Award was created to honor early leaders in the football coaching profession who coached at historically black colleges and universities. Past Trailblazer Award winners include Charles Williams, Hampton (2004); Cleve Abbott, Tuskegee (2005); Arnett Mumford, Southern (2006); Billy Nicks, Prairie View A&M (2007); Alonzo “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M (2008); Fred “Pops” Long, Wiley (2009); Harry R. “Big Jeff” Jefferson, Bluefield State (2010); Edward P. Hurt, Morgan State (2011); Vernon “Skip” McCain, Maryland-Eastern Shore (2012); Marino Casem, Alcorn State (2013); Gideon Smith, Hampton (2014); Eddie Robinson, Grambling State (2015); Oree Banks, South Carolina State and West Virginia State (2016); John Merritt, Jackson State and Tennessee State (2017); Earl Banks, Morgan State (2018); Bill Hayes, Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T (2019); Edward Jackson, Delaware State, Johnson C. Smith and Howard (2021); and Henry Kean, Kentucky State and Tennessee State (2022).
Clemons played college football at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, from 1922 to 1924 before transferring to Morris Brown College and playing alongside 2007 Trailblazer winner, Billy Nicks. Clemons earned his degree from Morris Brown, where he later became their head football coach from 1950 to 1962.
Clemons’s collegiate coaching career began in 1929 at Edward Waters. He guided the Tigers for four years before moving on to Lane College in 1934. Clemons led the Dragons for 12 years, with a three-year gap from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. Records are inaccurate, but Clemons produced winning seasons from 1938 to 1942, then after the war, guided Lane to an 8-2 mark and an appearance in the Cattle Bowl in 1946. After a 6-4 record and a second straight bowl appearance, Clemons’ final team at Lane went 7-1-1 in 1948.
After leaving Lane in 1948, Clemons took over head coaching duties for his alma mater, Morris Brown in 1950. He earned an overall record of 72-45-2 and guided the Wolverines to a 10-1 record in 1951, going 8-0 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and taking home his only Black College National Championship. Clemons led Morris Brown to 10 winning seasons during his 13 years as head coach, producing a second-place finish in the SIAC in 1955.
Clemons left Morris Brown for Jackson State in 1963, going 4-5 in his only season as head coach of the Tigers. He returned to Edward Waters in 1965, leading them to a 7-2 record in his final season as a head coach. Clemons, also known as “Ox,” died in March 1966, in Jacksonville, Florida. He will always be remembered as a highly respected and beloved American football coach who impacted the lives of his student-athletes daily.
n Monday, January 8, at the 2024 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
