James Branch Bocock (March 10, 1884 â May 25, 1946) was an American college football, college basketball, and college baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Georgia (1908), Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI)âÂÂnow known as Virginia Tech (1909âÂÂ1910, 1912âÂÂ1915), the University of North Carolina (1911), Louisiana State University (1920âÂÂ1921), the University of South Carolina (1925âÂÂ1926), and The College of William & Mary (1928âÂÂ1930, 1936âÂÂ1938), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 98âÂÂ55âÂÂ9. Bocock was also the head basketball coach at VPI (1909âÂÂ1911, 1913âÂÂ1915), LSU (1920âÂÂ1921), and South Carolina (1924âÂÂ1927), tallying a career college basketball head coaching mark of 109âÂÂ33, and the head baseball coach at VPI (1910âÂÂ1911, 1914), LSU (1922âÂÂ1923), and South Carolina (1925âÂÂ1927), amassing a career college baseball head coaching record of 70âÂÂ54âÂÂ2.
Bocock was a quarterback for the Georgetown Hoyas.
Although official records give Bocock credit only for coaching the Georgia Bulldogs football team in 1908, he also coached the last three games of Georgia's 1907 season. In 1907, Georgia head football coach Bull Whitney was caught in a controversy over the revelation that there were at least four paid professionals on the Georgia and Georgia Tech teams during the game played that year. As a result, Georgia removed all known ringers from its team and Whitney was forced to resign, handing the coaching duties over to Bocock for the last three games. Georgia was 2âÂÂ1 in those three games.
At VPI, Bocock was the team's first true professional coach and the first head football coach to receive a full-time salary.
Bocock died at the age of 62 on May 25, 1946, at his home near Blackstone, Virginia.