Jimmy Armistead
| Vanderbilt Commodores | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back/Quarterback |
| Class | Graduate |
| Career history | |
| College | Vanderbilt (1926–1928) |
| High school | Hume-Fogg |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | August 29, 1905 |
| Place of birth | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Date of death | March 1984 |
| Place of death | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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James Cate "Jimmy" Armistead (August 29, 1905 – March 1984) was a college football player.
James Cate Armistead was born on August 29, 1905 in Nashville, Tennessee to Wirt Mayo Armistead and Sarah Adeline Cate.
Armistead attended Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The first game played at Dudley Field was between the home-standing Commodores and the powerful Michigan Wolverines. A goal-line stand by the Commodores preserved a 0-0 tie. The following Friday, nearby Hume-Fogg High School played a game at Dudley. Senior Jimmie Armistead returned the opening kick for a touchdown, providing the first touchdown ever recorded in the stadium.
Armistead was a prominent running back for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University from 1926 to 1928. He was also bald, called by one writer "the bald eagle of Vanderbilt."
He started slow; "Nature neglected to endow him with pugnacity; Or even aggressiveness. As a sophomore he was so timid on attack that he was as easy to snuff out as a candle." He was always shy, and took no joy in seeing his opponent fail. In 1926, Vanderbilt lost its only game to national champion Alabama. Armistead once caught a pass in the game and was tackled just a few yards short of the goal without fighting for extra yardage. From there Vanderbilt failed to score; and so some Vanderbilt fans blamed Armistead for the loss.
He took the criticism of 1926 to heart and emerged a new player in 1927. Armistead led the nation in scoring in 1927 with 138 points, a year in which he was a target of quarterback Bill Spears.
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