Josh Cody
Josh Cody (born 1892-1961)
Teams coached: Mercer Bears, Vanderbilt Commodores, Clemson Tigers, Florida Gators, Temple Owls
Mercer record: 23-19 (.548)
Vanderbilt record: 98-100 (.495)
Clemson record: 48-55 (.466)
Florida record: 5-13 (.278)
Temple record: 122-105 (.537)
Overall record^: 296-292 (.503)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1944)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- SIAA Regular Season Champion: 1 (1922)
- SoCon Tournament Champion: 1 (1927)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1942-1953 | Temple |
| 1936-1937 | Florida |
| 1931-1936 | Vanderbilt |
| 1927-1931 | Clemson |
| 1923-1927 | Vanderbilt |
| 1921-1923 | Mercer |
Josh Cody Facts
- Joshua Crittenden Cody
- Born June 11, 1892
- Died June 17, 1961
- Hometown: Franklin, Tennessee
- Alma Mater: Vanderbilt University (BA)
- Played football at Bethel (TN) before enrolling at Vanderbilt in 1914 at the age of 22; he was a star athlete at VU, joining the football, basketball, baseball and track and field teams and earning 13 total varsity letters
- In football, he played for Hall of Fame coach Dan McGuin and played a variety of positions, mostly on the offensive and defensive lines; later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970
- Left Vanderbilt in 1917 to join the United States Army, where he served as a lieutenant during World War I
- Returned in 1919 and played one more season of football and basketball
- Spent over three decades as both a basketball and football coach, working at five different institutions along the way
- Started out at Mercer, where he coached both for several years before returning to alma mater Vanderbilt in 1923
- Was head basketball coach from 1923-27 and during that time served as a football assistant under McGugin
- Next was a stint at Clemson where he was both head football (1927-30) and basketball (1927-31) coach
- Went 29-11-1 in football, including a perfect 4-0 record against rival South Carolina, and 48-55 in basketball
- Despite the success, he returned to Vanderbilt in 1931 for a second stint as head basketball coach and also regained his spot as an assistant under McGugin in football
- Five additional seasons brought his overall basketball record at Vanderbilt up to 98-100
- Cody was passed over as head football coach in 1934 when McGugin retired, and new head coach Ray Morrison brought his own staff from SMU so Cody was no longer needed with the football program
- Cody stayed in Nashville to coach the 1935-36 basketball season but then left for Florida due to the disappointment of not being given the job at his alma mater (note: Morrison was also a former Vanderbilt player)
- Coached the Florida football team for four years, going 17-24-2 overall, and was the head basketball coach for just one season, going 5-13 in 1936-37
- He was also athletic director at Florida from 1936-39
- Left to become the line coach under Ray Morrison at Temple in 1940 and two years later was named head basketball coach; went 122-104 over the next ten years with the program
- Led the Owls to one of the first NCAA Tournaments in 1944, when only eight teams were invited to participate
- In 1952, he stopped coaching and became Temple’s AD, a position he held for seven years
- He had one season as a head football coach (1955) due to the previous coach’s sudden resignation
- Retired in June 1959 at Temple’s mandatory retirement age of 67
- Passed away from a heart attack near his farm in New Jersey in June 1961 at the age of 69
- In addition to the College Football Hall of Fame, Cody was also inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (1999)
Josh Cody Coaching Tree
- Harry Litwack (Temple)
^ overall record includes head basketball coaching positions at the collegiate level
