WVU Sports Hall of Fame
James "Jimmy" Walthall earned seven varsity letters in three sports while he was a Mountaineer from 1944-49. The four-year letterwinner in football (1944-47-48-49) led West Virginia to a 24-16-2 record.
A gifted T-formation quarterback, he made the transition from halfback during his freshman year in 1944. Walthall was one of the East Coast’s most dangerous triple-threat players. His running, passing and punting was responsible for all four touchdowns in WVU’s 28-27 upset of Penn State at University, Park, Pennsylvania, snapping the Nittany Lions’ six-year home winning streak.
At the conclusion of his freshman season, Walthall was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco, California. Soon after that, he was called to service in the Army near the conclusion of World War II.
In his return to Morgantown, Walthall suffered a serious knee injury during spring football practice leading into the 1947 season. He limped throughout 1947 campaign, playing sparingly for coach Bill Kern. When Dudley DeGroot was hired, he sent Walthall to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland to have his knee surgically repaired and then installed him at the controls of his Split-T offense.
Walthall rewarded DeGroot by passing for 1,222 yards to rank fourth in the nation and lead the Mountaineers to a Sun Bowl victory over Texas El-Paso. After college, Walthall was selected by two teams in the 1949 NFL Draft: Philadelphia in the 11th round and Buffalo in the 16th. For his efforts in football, Walthall was named to WVU's 1940-1949 all-time team.
While earning two letters in basketball in 1945 and 1947, Walthall guided the team to a 31-9 campaign and two NIT appearances. He tallied 174 points in 35 games for a 5.0 ppg average. He earned his seventh letter while a member of the Mountaineer baseball team in 1949, helping the Old Gold and Blue post a 13-8 record.
The native of Princeton, West Virginia, who returned to WVU as an assistant coach under coach Gene Corum, was responsible for West Virginia's rushing backfield. The World War II Army veteran retired after 30 years of teaching and coaching at various high schools in Georgia and died Feb. 22, 2012 in LaFayette, Georgia, at age 85.
