Jim Trimble
| Date of birth | May 29, 1918 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | McKeesport, Pennsylvania |
| Date of death | May 23, 2006 (aged 87) |
| Place of death | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Career information | |
| College | Indiana |
| Career history | |
| As coach | |
| 1952–1955 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1957–1962 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1963–1965 | Montreal Alouettes |
James W. "Jim" Trimble (May 29, 1918 – May 23, 2006) was an American gridiron football coach who served as head coach in both the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL), but his legacy is more connected to football products, thanks to his "slingshot" goal posts. In the NFL, he spent four years leading the Philadelphia Eagles, before spending the next decade in the CFL, most notably with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Trimble grew up in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He worked in the steel mills dragging slag off the steel melts in the furnaces; this caused him to develop a huge upper torso and very strong arms. In 1936 he was left tackle on the football team of Elgin Academy (a private school) in Elgin, Ill. The Hilltoppers lost no games in 1936 and 1937.
Later, he played tackle at Indiana University for three years beginning in 1939. After graduating in 1942, he entered the U.S. Navy, spending the next three years in the service during World War II. Upon the end of the conflict, he was named a line coach at Wichita State University, then became the school's head coach at the end of the 1947 season. Trimble held that position for three seasons and his overall coaching record at Wichita State was 13 wins, 14 losses, and 3 ties.
After three years with the Shockers, a time in which he also served as the school's athletic director, Trimble accepted an assistant coaching position with the Eagles in 1951. Bo McMillin, the man who had hired him, was diagnosed with cancer early in that first season and resigned in favor of Wayne Millner. When Millner himself resigned on September 8, 1952, Trimble was promoted to head coach.
During his first three years, Philadelphia finished second in each season to the Cleveland Browns, with Trimble awarded a three-year contract after the team's second straight runnerup finish in 1953. Entering the 1955 NFL season, the Eagles were expected to strongly challenge the defending champion Browns, but when the team fell to 4-7-1, Trimble was fired on December 12. During his four years with the Eagles, he had compiled a mark of 25-20-3.
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