Jim Pyburn, an All-American at Auburn before coaching at Columbus High and then Georgia, dies at age 78
Jim Pyburn knew the Georgia-Auburn rivalry well.
He was an All-American wide receiver at Auburn during the 1950s when the two teams played their annual game at Columbus’ Memorial Stadium.
He was the head football coach at Columbus High in 1962 and ’63. He sent a couple of players to Auburn and a couple to Georgia.
And he was a longtime assistant coach for Georgia from 1964-79. He coached the defensive line, linebackers and the secondary for head coach Vince Dooley, who was a teammate of Pyburn’s at Auburn.
Pyburn died Saturday night at 78 in Jasper, Ala., after a long illness.
Pyburn was interviewed by the Ledger-Enquirer in the late 1990s for a pair of stories on the anniversary of the rivalry leaving Columbus in 1958.
Pyburn said the Auburn-Georgia game was a natural fit for Columbus.
“It was sort of like the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville,” he said. “The Auburn-Georgia game has always been a border war.”
He said he enjoyed both sides of the rivalry, but that his emotions were pulled in opposite directions when the teams played.
“I’ve looked at the rivalry from both sides of the fence,” he said. “The game at Columbus had a lot of life to it. That game will live in a lot of people’s memories for a long time.”
Pyburn said he remembered the team’s bus rides to Columbus in 1953 and 1954, when a highway patrol motorcade would lead the way from Auburn with lights flashing and sirens blaring.
Pyburn once held the Auburn record for yards by a receiver in a season. Auburn’s coach at the time, Ralph Jordan said, “We have a passing attack just throw the ball in Pyburn’s direction.”
Also a baseball star
Pyburn was also an outstanding baseball player at Auburn, leading the SEC in hitting with a .432 average in 1953.
“Jim Pyburn was one of the greatest two-sport athletes in Auburn history and his passing is a sad day for the Auburn family,” Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pyburn family during their time of grief.”
He signed a pro baseball contract with the Baltimore Orioles in ’54 and eventually played in 158 major league games.
After three years he left to start his coaching career, which included his stop at Columbus High, where his teams went 11-7-3 in two seasons, including 7-3-1 in 1963. That Blue Devils team won seven straight before a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Moultrie in a region final.
Pyburn was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Pyburn’s brother, Ralph, was the head football coach at Columbus High from 1956-58. He still lives here in Columbus.
Pyburn’s son, Jeff, played quarterback for Georgia from 1976-79 and is currently a practicing attorney in Phoenix, Ariz.
Jim Pyburn is also survived by his wife of 57 years, Ann Waggoner Pyburn, as well as another son, Matthew Harris Pyburn, and three grandchildren.
The funeral will be held Wednesday at Elmwood Cemetery and Chapel, 600 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Birmingham, Ala. Visitation begins at 3 p.m. with the service to follow at 4 p.m.
This story was originally published May 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Jim Pyburn, an All-American at Auburn before coaching at Columbus High and then Georgia, dies at age 78."