Abe Lemons
Abe Lemons (1922-2002)
Teams coached: Oklahoma City Chiefs, Texas-Pan American Broncs, Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma City record: 427-266 (.616)
Texas-Pan American record: 55-16 (.775)
Texas record: 110-63 (.636)
Overall record^: 592-345 (.632)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8 (1956, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1979)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 4 (1956, 1957, 1963, 1965)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 1 (1978)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1959, 1968, 1978, 1980)
- Southwest Regular Season Champion: 2 (1978, 1979)
- SAC (NAIA) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1987)
- NAIA Division I Tournament Appearances: 1 (1987)
Awards:
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (1978)
- Southwest Coach of the Year: 1 (1978)
- NABC Golden Anniversary Award (2002)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1983-1990 | Oklahoma City |
1976-1982 | Texas |
1973-1976 | Texas-Pan American |
1955-1973 | Oklahoma City |
Abe Lemons Facts
- A.E. Lemons
- Born November 21, 1922
- Died September 2, 2002
- Hometown: Walters, Oklahoma
- Alma Mater: Oklahoma City University (BA, 1949)
- Started his college career at Southwestern Oklahoma Teachers College but left in 1942 to join the Merchant Marines and served in the Pacific during WWII
- Returned to the States in 1946, attending Hardin College (TX) for one year before finishing his career and education at OCU
- Played forward and center for the Chiefs (now Stars) under head coach Doyle Parrack
- First head coaching job was at Oklahoma City, then a member of the NCAA University Division (now known as D-I)
- Coached OCU for the eighteen seasons, going to the NCAA Tournament seven times and the NIT twice
- Won 309 of 490 games during this stretch, his first stint as the head coach at his alma mater
- Spent five years as the head coach at Texas-Pan American (now UTRGV), going 55-16 during that stint
- Left for Texas in 1976, coaching the Longhorns for six seasons
- Won back-to-back Southwest regular season titles in 1978 and 1979, also winning the 1978 NIT Championship
- Reached one NCAA Tournament and two NITs at Texas, but failed to win more than 16 games in his final two seasons, missing the postseason both years
- Served as the President of the NABC in 1977 and named NABC Coach of the Year and Southwest Coach of the Year in 1978
- Later awarded the NABC Golden Anniversary Award in 2002, just before he passed away
- Returned to OCU in 1983, coaching the Chiefs for another seven seasons (two in the Division I MCC and five at the NAIA level)
- Won the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) title in 1987, going 34-1 overall and reaching the second round of the NAIA D-I Tournament
- Retired from coaching in 1990; inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame that same year
- Passed away from complications from Parkinson’s Disease in September 2002 at the age of 79
- Along with his wife, Betty Jo, had two daughters
Abe Lemons Coaching Tree
- Paul Hansen (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma City)
- Ray Harper (Jacksonville State, Western Kentucky, Oklahoma City, Kentucky Wesleyan)
- Johnny Moore (Fresno Heatwave)
- LaSalle Thompson (San Diego Wildfire)
- Bill White (Texas-Pan American)
- Joe Williams (Florida State, Furman, Jacksonville)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and NAIA Division I levels, as Oklahoma City was originally affiliated with the NCAA but dropped down to the NAIA in 1985 during Lemons’ second stint there