Jim Pyburn, an All-American end and baseball player at Auburn in the ’50s, died Saturday in Jasper, Ala., after a long illness. He was 78.
Pyburn was a two-time All-SEC pick and earned All-America honors as a junior with 28 receptions, 460 yards and two touchdowns in 1954. He caught 23 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore in 1953.
He held Auburn’s record for yards by a receiver in a season. Late Tigers coach Ralph Jordan once said, “We have a passing attack. Just throw the ball in Pyburn’s direction.”
In baseball, Pyburn led the SEC with a .432 batting average in 1954, earning All-SEC honors. He was drafted by the Orioles and played three seasons from 1955-57. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
“Jim Pyburn was one of the greatest two-sport athletes in Auburn history and his passing is a sad day for the Auburn family,” Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pyburn family during their time of grief.”
Pyburn was the head football coach at Columbus High from 1962-63. He joined Vince Dooley‘s staff at Georgia in 1964, coaching there until 1979.
The funeral will be held Wednesday, May 25, at Elmwood Cemetery and Chapel, 600 Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr., Birmingham, Ala. Visitation begins at 2 p.m. CT with the service to follow at 3 p.m.