Former Tiger, M Club inductee Tom Nix dies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Legendary Memphis-area high school coach Tom Nix, inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 1977, died Wednesday from natural causes at age 93.

A former Tiger football lineman in the late 1940s, Nix was among the winningest high school coaches in Shelby-Metro history. His overall record at Whitehaven High and Christian Brothers High was 241-74-7.

He won more than 200 games as the longtime successful coach at Christian Brothers High, including capturing a state title in 1977 in dramatic fashion at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. In the closing moments, he opted for a trick play that involved his quarterback catching the game-winning touchdown pass against Chattanooga Baylor.

An offensive and defensive lineman under coach Ralph Hatley at then-Memphis State, he helped the Tigers to a huge, 21-14, homecoming victory over Kansas State in 1949.

After beginning his prep coaching career at Whitehaven High in 1953, he was named coach at Christian Brothers in 1956 and held the position until 1984 when he was named the school's athletic director. According to the school, Nix won 20 city, county, district and regional championships during his career and coached several undefeated teams, including one led by future Major League Baseball All-Star Tim McCarver in 1958.

In 1996, the high school named its football stadium on Walnut Grove Road after Nix. In addition to being in the M Club Hall of Fame at Memphis, Nix is also a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and three other halls of fame. He was selected to the Tigers' all-time football team for the period between 1924 and 1958.

"All those years I coached with him, we never had a disagreement," said Nafe David, his longtime assistant at CBHS and a frequent visitor to University of Memphis football and basketball practices. "He let his assistants coach. He was a great coach."

David, a CBHS assistant from 1962 to 1982, said Nix's greatest attribute, among many, was his organizational skills.

"We never went to a practice where we didn't know exactly what we were going to do," David said. "He was a special man. He really was."

Longtime WMC-TV sports anchor Jarvis Greer played for Nix at CBHS before continuing his career at then-Memphis State in the late 1970s. Greer said Nix convinced him to come to CBHS by "recruiting my parents."

In a tweet, Greer wrote: "Great man. Great coach. Great friend."

University of Memphis Athletics

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