Thurman, James Wyatt | Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

Name: Thurman, James Wyatt

Historical Note: James W. 'Spider' Thurman was born in 1917 in Dayton, Tennessee, the son of a coal miner. He grew up in Benham, Harlan County, Kentucky from age seven and was given his nickname  after being bitten by a spider as a child in Benham. Thurman set high school records in football, basketball and track, earning state, regional and district honors from 1934 through 1936. Thurman elected to attend Eastern Kentucky State College to play for Coach Rome Rankin. At Eastern, he directed the Maroons football team as quarterback to two Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and was named to the All-KIAC team three years and to the Little All-American football team in 1940 after leading his teams to the first undefeated and untied season in history. At Eastern he also lettered in basketball and track. He received a B.S. degree in 1941 and MA from EKU in 1952. He entered the US Army Air Corps in 1943 and served in India and Burma during the War. He was discharged from active duty as a Captain and retired from the Army Reserves as a Major. Following his military career, he began coaching at Clay County High School, where his basketball teams compiled a record of 279-54 during his twelve years as coach. He took his teams to the Kentucky State Tournament six times. He returned to Eastern in 1962, becoming its first permanent Director of Alumni Affairs and continued in that position until he retired in 1983.

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Thurman, James Wyatt