Blackwood profile “He’s Family” The world of athletics is filled with private tales of enduring coach-and- athlete bonds that extend far beyond demanding practices and gameday heroics. Long after championships have been won, it is those who have enjoyed such lifetime relationships that reap sports’ greatest reward. James Blackwood, former University of Texas associate track and head cross-country coach, reigns as a shining example. Such was the touchstone of his 44-year professional journey. During a career which saw him coach Olympians and All-Americans, Blackwood taught, encouraged, and cheered. Most importantly, he cared. His relationship with the late Johnny (Lam) Jones stands as a sterling example. Blackwood, while an assistant to Cleburne Price, watched Jones’ remarkable journey from a teenage Olympic gold medal winner to a No. 1 draft selection of the NFL New York Jets. They stayed in touch through good times and bad, their relationship never faltering as Jones later battled through dark days of poor decisions and failing health. When Jones was hospitalized for the final time, his young life too quickly spent, it was Blackwood who hurried to his side. Hospital gatekeepers, however, refused to allow him entry, explaining that only family members were being granted visiting rights. Jones’ mother, overhearing the conversation, rushed to intercede. “This man,” she told the nurse, “IS family.” Such is the Blackwood legacy. “I was fortunate to have outstanding coaches back in high school and college. They were deeply concerned not only that we perform to the best of our ability but that we develop in our personal lives. I tried to pass that mindset along when I began coaching.” Indeed, he came to his calling with impressive credentials. As an Abilene High schoolboy, he helped his team win the 1959 state championship, finishing second in the 880 and running on the mile relay, then continued his career at Abilene Christian where he was part of a distance medley relay that posted the second fastest time in the world in 1961. Before being summoned to the Forty Acres in 1972, he had already enjoyed success as a high school coach at Corpus Christi Ray, where his cross-country team won the state championship, Corpus Christi King, and Richardson. And during his 18 years coaching at UT, championships came regularly; 13 Southwest Conference titles, strong showings at major meets and top ten finishes at the annual NCAA championships. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Blackwood served as associate director of the annual Texas Relays, seeing to it that the massive spring event ran like clockwork. The responsibility was demanding, but rewarding. He recalls a time when he overheard a young high school entrant tell her teammate, “In my whole life I never expected to see anything like this. I never dreamed of getting to run here. Win or lose, this is my dream come true.” Blackwood nodded toward the young athlete and said to a group of nearby volunteers: “That, gentlemen, is what this is all about. Kids like that are why we’re here, putting in these long hours.” He also coordinated the hosting of a NCAA Championship and a U.S.-Russia dual meet held in Memorial Stadium.

When college track programs throughout the nation began recruiting foreign runners, Blackwood quickly booked passage abroad. “We had ‘scouts’ in various countries who kept an eye on promising runners who were interested in coming to the United States to study and compete,” he recalls. He remembers a visit to a small village in Kenya where he sought directions to a rural grass hut where the family of a gifted young distance runner named Patrick Sang resided. Sang’s mother barely looked at the scholarship agreement shown her before urging her son to accept it. In time, the Blackwood-recruited Sang would earn All-America recognition as a collegiate steeplechaser and ultimately win a silver medal in the event at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He was one of the 81 NCAA All-Americans the now 83-year-old Blackwood helped coach before his retirement.

Even when Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds and head track coach Cleburne Price parted ways following the 1984 season, Blackwood’s value to Longhorn athletics wasn’t overlooked. Told that the next head coach would likely wish to hire his own assistants, Blackwood simply moved down the hall into a new office. Fred Akers, having replaced the retiring Royal at the football helm, hired him to oversee all phases of football recruiting in 1985. And it didn't take Blackwood long to become a familiar face to the Longhorn players as he spent time at practices, in the dressing rooms, and on the sidelines on Saturday.

     When his father, a longtime fire marshal in Abilene, passed away, James returned home for a Friday funeral and planned to stay with his mother the following day. It would mean his absence at the Texas-SMU game in Memorial Stadium.

     His mother woke him early that Saturday, urging that he get on the road immediately if he was to make it back to Austin in time for kick-off.  "Your father would have wanted you to go," she insisted.

     James made it into the Texas locker room just minutes before kickoff and was stunned by his reception. Not only did the players and coaches cheer his entrance, but each wore a black armband in honor of his late father.

     To this day, it is among Blackwood's fondest memories of his years spent at Texas.  "You can get really spoiled in an atmosphere like that," he says.

While he enjoyed the challenge of providing youngsters their first glimpse of college life, scheduling their campus visits and encouraging them to consider one day playing for the Longhorns, he was first and foremost a coach. Ultimately, he made the move to become women’s track and cross-country coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio. There, he spent the final nine years of his career, building a nationally recognized program, coaching 30 Southland Conference champions. Rest assured, his accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Blackwood has been recognized by the Texas Track and Field Hall of Fame, his hometown Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame, and selected as Honorary Referee of both the Texas Relays and the state UIL meet. Today, the honors, championships and the record-setting performances are the stuff of fond memories. Yet it is those enduring relationships that endure. -- Carlton Stowers