View source for Babe McCarthy

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Babe McCarthy
| image = Babe McCarthy 1963 yearbook portrait.jpg
| alt =
| caption = McCarthy circa 1963
| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|10|1}}
| birth_place = [[Baldwyn, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1975|3|17|1923|10|1}}
| death_place = Baldwyn, Mississippi, U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Mississippi State University|Mississippi State]]
| coach_years1 = 1955–1965
| coach_team1 = [[Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball|Mississippi State]]
| coach_years2 = 1966–1967
| coach_team2 = [[George Washington Colonials men's basketball|George Washington]]
| coach_years3 = 1967–1970
| coach_team3 = [[New Orleans Buccaneers]]
| coach_years4 = 1970–1972
| coach_team4 = [[Memphis Pros]]
| coach_years5 = 1972–1973
| coach_team5 = [[Dallas Chaparrals]]
| coach_years6 = 1973–1974
| coach_team6 = [[Kentucky Colonels]]
| overall_record = 175–103 (NCAA)<BR>280–284 (ABA)
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships = 4 [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] regular season (1959, 1961–1963)
| awards = 3× [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] Coach of the Year (1961–1963)<br />[[ABA Coach of the Year Award|ABA Coach of the Year]] ([[1973–74 ABA season|1974]])
| coaching_records =
}}
'''James Harrison "Babe" McCarthy''' (October 1, 1923 – March 17, 1975),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AR1OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vewDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6891,1793629&dq=babe+mccarthy&hl=en|title = The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search}}</ref> was an American professional and collegiate [[basketball]] coach.  McCarthy was originally from [[Baldwyn]], [[Mississippi]]. McCarthy may best be remembered for [[Mississippi State University|Mississippi State]]'s appearance in the [[1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament]] when his all-white team sneaked out of town in order to face [[Loyola University Chicago]], which had four black starters.

In March 1975, McCarthy died as a result of colon cancer.

==Early life==
McCarthy was from [[Baldwyn, Mississippi]], and played high school basketball at Tupelo Junior High School.  After high school he attended Mississippi State University where he was a member of [[Sigma Pi]] fraternity.  He did not play college basketball.  He served in the [[U.S. Air Force|Air Force]] and then began coaching high school basketball at his alma mater in 1947. He coached them to a state championship in 1948.<ref>https://www.sunherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/rick-cleveland/article39013551.html</ref> He was recalled to the Air Force for the [[Korean War]] and coached an Air Force team in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], to third place in an Air Force tournament.  After the Air Force he officiated [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] games before becoming the Mississippi State coach in 1955.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=Spring 1957|volume=44|number=1|magazine=The Emerald of Sigma Pi|title=S.E.C. Coach of Year|page=13|url=http://www.enivation.com/SigmaPi/archive/Emerald/1957/SP_EMERALD_VOL_44_NO_1_SPRING_1957.pdf|access-date=2016-07-27|archive-date=2016-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820221814/http://www.enivation.com/SigmaPi/archive/Emerald/1957/SP_EMERALD_VOL_44_NO_1_SPRING_1957.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

==College career==
McCarthy first came to fame for his 10-year stint at Mississippi State, where his teams won 169 games, lost 85, and won four [[Southeastern Conference]] (SEC) titles (three outright, one shared). While coaching at MSU he was named SEC Coach of the year three times. When he left Mississippi State he was the school's all-time leader in wins but has since been passed by Richard Williams and [[Rick Stansbury]].

McCarthy may best be remembered for his team crossing the color line in the segregated [[Southern United States|South]] of the 1960s. Even before it was certain that Mississippi State would face Loyola and their four black starters, racist elements in the Mississippi media got into the act. On Thursday, March 7, 1963, the ''[[Jackson Daily News]]'' printed a picture of Loyola's starters to show that four of them were African Americans. As a caption to the picture, ''Daily News'' editor Jimmy Ward wrote that "readers may desire to clip the photo of the Loyola team and mail it today to the board of trustees of the institution of higher learning" to prevent the game from taking place.  At the time, a longstanding state policy barred college teams at state schools from playing games against racially integrated teams.  The Bulldogs had been forced to turn down three previous NCAA Tournament bids for this reason, including when they won their first two outright SEC titles in school history.

The editorials were in response to the decision by Mississippi State President [[Dean W. Colvard]]'s March 2, 1963, to accept the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as outright SEC champions.  The College Board of Mississippi met on March 9, 1963, and upheld Colvard's decision. But on March 13, just a day before the team was scheduled to travel to East Lansing, state senator Billy Mitts and former state senator B. W. Lawson sought and obtained a temporary injunction against the team leaving the state.

While sheriffs were on their way to [[Starkville, Mississippi]], to serve the injunction, the team was participating in a pep rally the night before their departure, where effigies of state senators Mitts and Lawson were hung. The team's original plan was to leave Starkville at 8:30&nbsp;a.m. on Thursday morning. But learning that sheriffs would be expected to arrive in town at 11:30&nbsp;p.m. Wednesday night, MSU put their sophisticated contingency plan into effect.

McCarthy, the athletic director, and the assistant athletic director drove to Memphis, and then flew to Nashville. The team itself sent the freshman squad to the airport as scheduled-posing as the varsity team. The real varsity team hid in a dorm on campus. The next morning, they boarded a private plane at the airport and flew to Nashville to meet the coach and team officials. From Nashville, the whole group took a commercial flight to the game at [[East Lansing, Michigan]]. These events were chronicled in the [[DVD]] [http://www.onenightinmarch.com/ One Night in March] produced by Starkville-based [http://www.broadcastmediagroup.com/ Broadcast Media Group]

[[McCarthy Gymnasium]] on the campus of MSU was named for him in 1975 and he was also inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame that year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hailstate.com/honors/hall-of-fame/james-h-babe-mccarthy/98 | title=James H. "Babe" McCarthy (1975) - Hall of Fame }}</ref>

McCarthy later coached the [[George Washington University]]'s men's basketball team, going 6–18 with the Colonials in 1966–1967.

==Head coaching record==
===College===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start
|type=coach
|conference=
|postseason=
|poll=no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=[[Mississippi State Bulldogs|Mississippi State]]
|startyear=1955
|conference=[[Southeastern Conference]]
|endyear=1965
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season|1955–56]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 12–12
 | conference   = 6–8
 | confstanding = T-6th
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1956–57]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 17–8
 | conference   = 9–5
 | confstanding = T-3rd
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1957–58]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 20–5
 | conference   = 9–5
 | confstanding = T-3rd
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1958–59]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 24–1
 | conference   = 13–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = Not allowed to accept NCAA Tournament Invitation due to competition with black athletes
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1959–60 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1959–60]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 12–13
 | conference   = 5–9
 | confstanding = 9th
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1960–61]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 19–6
 | conference   = 11–3
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = Not allowed to accept NCAA Tournament Invitation due to competition with black athletes
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1961–62]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 24–1
 | conference   = 13–1
 | confstanding = T-1st
 | postseason   = Not allowed to accept NCAA Tournament Invitation due to competition with black athletes
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1962–63]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 22–6
 | conference   = 12–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Sweet 16]]
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1963–64]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 9–17
 | conference   = 4–10
 | confstanding = 11th
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1964–65]]
 | name         = Mississippi State
 | overall      = 10–16
 | conference   = 6–10
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Mississippi State
 | overall    = 169–85
 | confrecord = 88–54
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=[[George Washington University]]
|startyear=1966
|conference= Independent
|endyear=1967
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1966–67]]
 | name         = George Washington
 | overall      = 6–18
 | conference   =
 | confstanding =
 | postseason   =
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = George Washington
 | overall    = 6–18
 | confrecord =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall=175–103
|poll=no
|polltype=
}}

==ABA career==
In the [[American Basketball Association]], McCarthy coached the [[New Orleans Buccaneers]] from 1967 to 1970, the [[Memphis Pros]] from 1970 to 1972, the [[Dallas Chaparrals]] for the 1972–73 season, and the [[Kentucky Colonels]] in the 1973–1974 season. He was named ABA coach of the year for the 73–74 season. In the 1967–68 season he led the team to victories over the [[Denver Rockets]] and Dallas Chaparrals before losing the finals in seven games to the [[Pittsburgh Pipers]]. He was named ABA coach of the year in 1969 and 1974. He was the first ABA coach to win 200 games.

In 1997, he received two votes among selectors voting for the [[ABA All-Time Team]] in the coaching category.

==Head coaching record==
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1967–68 New Orleans Buccaneers season|New Orleans]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1967}}
| 78||48||30||{{Winning percentage|48|30}}|| style="text-align:center;"|1st in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]||17||10||7||.588
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1968 ABA playoffs|Lost in ABA Finals]]
|-
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1968–69 New Orleans Buccaneers season|New Orleans]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1968}}
| 78||46||32||{{Winning percentage|46|32}}|| style="text-align:center;"|2nd in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]||11 || 4||7||.364
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1969 ABA playoffs|Lost in Second Round]]
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1969–70 New Orleans Buccaneers season|New Orleans]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1969}}
| 84||42||42||{{Winning percentage|42|42}}|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]|| || || ||
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1970–71 Memphis Pros season|Memphis]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1970}}
| 84||41||43||{{Winning percentage|41|43}}|| style="text-align:center;"|3rd in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]|| 4|| 0|| 4||.000
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1971 ABA playoffs|Lost in First Round]]
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1971–72 Memphis Pros season|Memphis]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1971}}
| 84||26||58||{{Winning percentage|26|58}}|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]|| —||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1972–73 Dallas Chaparrals season|Dallas]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1972}}
| 74||24||48||{{Winning percentage|24|48}}|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in [[Western Division (ABA)|Western]]|| —||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1973–74 Kentucky Colonels season|Kentucky]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1973}}
| 84||53||31||{{Winning percentage|53|31}}|| style="text-align:center;"|2nd in [[Eastern Division (ABA)|Eastern]]|| 8|| 4|| 4||.500
| style="text-align:center;"|[[1974 ABA playoffs|Lost in Second Round]]
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 564||280||284||{{Winning percentage|280|284}}||&nbsp;||40||18||22||{{Winning percentage|18|20}}||&nbsp;
{{s-end}}

==Babe-isms==
McCarthy was known as "Ol' Magnolia Mouth" (or just "Magnolia Mouth") for his cement-thick Mississippi accent and short, funny phrases called [http://www.remembertheaba.com/TributeMaterial/McCarthy.html Babe-isms]. A few of the more famous and often used Babe-isms were:

*Boy, I gotta tell you, you gotta come out at 'em like a bitin' sow.
*My old pappy used to tell me the sun don't shine on the same dog's butt every day.
*Why panic at five in the mornin' because it's still dark out?
*Now, let's cloud up and rain all over 'em.

==Personal life==
He died on March 18, 1975, of cancer in [[Baldwyn, Mississippi]] just a few hours after he was formally inducted into the [[Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame]]. McCarthy was buried at the town cemetery. In 2015, a Mississippi Department of Archives and History marker was dedicated to McCarthy in the town, with several of McCarthy's players present at the ceremony.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/19/archives/babe-mcarthy-dies-basketball-coach.html | title=Babe M'carthy Dies; Basketball Coach | work=The New York Times | date=19 March 1975 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://msfame.com/inductees/james-h-mccarthy/ | title=James H. McCarthy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://msfame.com/a-great-day-in-baldwyn-a-day-to-remember-babe/ | title=A great day in Baldwyn, a day to remember "Babe" | date=23 October 2015 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/mccarba99c.html Basketball-reference.com]

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Babe}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Dallas Chaparrals head coaches]]
[[Category:George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Kentucky Colonels coaches]]
[[Category:Memphis Sounds coaches]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Mississippi State University alumni]]<!--Did not play basketball-->
[[Category:New Orleans Buccaneers coaches]]
[[Category:People from Baldwyn, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer in Mississippi]]