Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season. Tatum had created both success and controversy during his one season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. During his nine-year tenure, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in Maryland history, and the Terrapins compiled two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and as of the end of 2016, he has the highest winning percentage of any Maryland football coach who coached at least seven games. In 1954, the University of Maryland appointed a new president, Dr. Wilson Elkins, who chose to de-emphasize football. Following the 1955 season, Tatum took a pay cut to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he died four years later.
1954 Orange Bowl
Maryland was helmed by seventh-year head coach Jim Tatum. To that point, he had compiled a record of 56–11–3. Before that, he spent one year as the Oklahoma head coach in 1946, where Bud Wilkinson had served as his assistant coach. The team was ranked first in the nation in the final rankings of both the Associated Press (AP) Poll and the United Press Coaches' Poll. Maryland had finished the regular season with a perfect 10–0 record with the narrowest win being a 20–6 victory over Don Faurot's Missouri. They also recorded wins over 11th-ranked Mississippi, 38–0, and 11th-ranked Alabama, 21–0. Tatum said, "this is the greatest team I ever coached."