# Jim Coombs > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jim_Coombs > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jim_Coombs.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Coombs > Source revision: 1345373334 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American football player, coach, and singer (1869–1935)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox college coach | name = Jim Coombs | image = James P Coombs.jpg | alt = | caption = Coombs pictured in ''The Prism 1901'', Maine yearbook | birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|6|6}} | birth_place = [Augusta, Maine](/source/Augusta%2C_Maine), U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1935|2|22|1869|6|6}} | death_place = [Staten Island, New York](/source/Staten_Island), U.S. | alma_mater = [Brown University](/source/Brown_University) (1897){{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CvISAAAAIAAJ&q=%22JP+Coombs%22 |title=The ATO palm - Alpha Tau Omega - Google Books |year=1899 |via=[Google Books](/source/Google_Books)|access-date=July 31, 2012}} | player_years1 = 1893–1896 | player_team1 = [Brown](/source/Brown_Bears_football) | player_positions = [Center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) | coach_years1 = 1897 | coach_team1 = [Worcester Academy](/source/Worcester_Academy) | coach_years2 = 1898 | coach_team2 = [Maine](/source/Maine_Black_Bears_football) | coach_years3 = 1899 | coach_team3 = [Bowdoin](/source/Bowdoin_Polar_Bears) (line) | coach_years4 = 1908 | coach_team4 = [New York Hippodrome](/source/New_York_Hippodrome) | overall_record = 1–4 (college) | bowl_record = | tournament_record = | championships = | awards = | coaching_records = }} '''James Parker Coombs'''{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1936&dat=18981015&id=rbAgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=omkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2637,4387843 |title=The Sun - Google News Archive |access-date=July 31, 2012}} (June 6, 1869 – February 22, 1935), also known as '''Big Jim''' or '''Daddy Jim''' was an American football player and coach and singer. He played football at [Brown](/source/Brown_Bears_football) and coached at [Maine](/source/Maine_Black_Bears_football) before becoming a professional opera singer in [Boston](/source/Boston) and [New York City](/source/New_York_City). He then performed as a member of Roxy's Gang on [NBC](/source/NBC)'s [Blue Network](/source/Blue_Network). ==Early life== Coombs was born in [Augusta, Maine](/source/Augusta%2C_Maine). His family moved to [Sedgwick, Maine](/source/Sedgwick%2C_Maine) when he was two years old, then to [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland%2C_Maine) when he was seventeen. He took vocal lessons in Portland and performed in public for the first time in 1894 in an amateur production of ''[H.M.S. Pinafore](/source/H.M.S._Pinafore)''. He prepared for college at the [Bridgton Academy](/source/Bridgton_Academy) and [Westbrook Seminary](/source/Westbrook_College) and took part in both music and athletics at these schools. ==Football== Coombs enrolled in [Brown University](/source/Brown_University) in 1893 and was a member of the Brown varsity football team for four years. He competed in [hammer throw](/source/hammer_throw) and [shot put](/source/shot_put) for the Brown track team. He studied vocal music and was director of the university's chapel choir. In 1897, Coombs coached [Worcester Academy](/source/Worcester_Academy) football team. That winter, he worked as a vocal coach in Portland. In 1898, he enlisted in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) as a [bugle](/source/bugle)r. He was honorably discharged with the rank of chief [master-at-arms](/source/Master-at-arms_(United_States_Navy)) upon the conclusion of the [Spanish–American War](/source/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War). That fall, he coached the Maine football team and, when the season end, began instructing the school's glee club. The following season, he was the line coach at [Bowdoin College](/source/Bowdoin_College), but returned to Maine later in the year to train the glee club.{{cite news |title=The Maine Gridiron. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MggAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA10 |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=Lewiston Evening Journal |date=October 11, 1899}} ==Singing== Coombs became a professional singer in 1900 after a lauded performance in a Portland production of ''[Alessandro Stradella](/source/Alessandro_Stradella_(opera))''. He was hired by [Henry Wilson Savage](/source/Henry_Wilson_Savage) and performed in a number of his operas. He played the King and Herald in ''[Lohengrin](/source/Lohengrin_(opera))'', Amonasro in ''[Aida](/source/Aida)'', and Plunkett in ''[Martha](/source/Martha_(opera))''. In 1904, he was one of a few Americans chosen to perform in an English-language production of ''[Parsifal](/source/Parsifal)'' in [Boston](/source/Boston).{{cite news |title=Splendid Success For A Maine Singer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNcgAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA6 |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=Lewiston Evening Journal |date=October 28, 1904}} On April 12, 1905, Coombs made his New York City debut at the [New York Hippodrome](/source/New_York_Hippodrome) in [Thompson](/source/Frederic_Thompson) & [Dundy](/source/Elmer_%22Skip%22_Dundy)'s ''[A Yankee Circus on Mars](/source/A_Yankee_Circus_on_Mars)''. The play, directed by [R. H. Burnside](/source/R._H._Burnside), had a cast of 1,200. Coombs was the lead [Bass](/source/Bass_(voice_type)) at the Hippodrome until it was acquired by the [Shuberts](/source/Shubert_family) in 1908. During his final year at the theater, he coached the Hippodrome's football team, which was made up of theater performers and played on a grass-mat covered stage.{{cite news |title=Football at Midnight |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OydfAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=The News-Democrat |date=November 23, 1908}} After a foray into motion pictures, Coombs returned to the Hippodrome and served as their first bass soloist for four more years. He spent two years at the [Radio City Music Hall](/source/Radio_City_Music_Hall) and was a soloist in the inaugural performance at the [Capitol Theatre](/source/Capitol_Theatre_(New_York_City)). In 1924, Coombs joined Roxy's Gang, a cabaret group led by [Samuel Roxy Rothafel](/source/Samuel_Roxy_Rothafel). Going by the name "Daddy Jim Coombs", he performed on the group's radio program.{{cite news |title=Radio Programs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L01HAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA10 |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=Meriden Record |date=June 6, 1927}} He retired from the group in 1934. He died of a heart attack on February 22, 1935, at his home in [Great Kills, Staten Island](/source/Great_Kills%2C_Staten_Island). He was survived by his wife and four children. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.{{cite news |title=James P. Coombs, Opera Basso, Dies |work=The New York Times |date=February 24, 1935}} ==Head coaching record== ===College=== {{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subhead | name = [Maine](/source/Maine_Black_Bears_football) | conf = [Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association](/source/Maine_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association) | startyear = 1898 | endyear = single }} {{CFB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | year = [1898](/source/1898_college_football_season) | name = [Maine](/source/1898_Maine_football_team) | overall = 1–4 | conference = 0–4 | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = no | ranking2 = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal | name = Maine | overall = 1–4 | confrecord = 0–4 }} {{CFB Yearly Record End | overall = 1–4 | bowls = no | poll = no | polltype = | legend = no }} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Maine Black Bears football coach navbox}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, James P.}} Category:1869 births Category:1935 deaths Category:19th-century players of American football Category:20th-century American male opera singers Category:American cabaret singers Category:American football centers Category:American radio singers Category:Bridgton Academy alumni Category:Bowdoin Polar Bears football coaches Category:Brown Bears football players Category:Coaches of American football from Maine Category:High school football coaches in Massachusetts Category:Maine Black Bears football coaches Category:People from Great Kills, Staten Island Category:People from Sedgwick, Maine Category:Players of American football from Maine Category:Sportspeople from Augusta, Maine Category:United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jim Coombs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Coombs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Coombs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.