James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was born on September 25, 1910 in Selma, Alabama. After graduating from Selma High School in 1927, he attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University), where he became active in football, basketball and baseball. In 1932, Jordan was hired as assistant coach at Auburn for both the basketball and football teams. Two years later he was hired as the head coach of the basketball team at the University of South Carolina. During the Second World War, Lieutenant Jordan saw action in North Africa, Sicily, the D-Day invasion and Okinawa. At Utah Beach, he qualified for the Purple Heart. Following the war, he worked as line coach for the football team and head basketball coach at the University of Georgia. In 1951, Jordan returned to Auburn as head coach of the football team. As head coach he amassed a 175-83-7 win-loss and coached the 1957 team to the national championship. He retired in 1975 and was appointed to Auburn's Board of Trustees in 1976. On July 17, 1980, "Shug" Jordan died of complications related to leukemia.