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