Perhaps no William & Mary Head Coach in the history of the school has been as highly revered as Jimmye Laycock. Spending 39 seasons as Head Coach of the Tribe, Laycock amassed an all-time resume at the FCS level — one that will surely garner him entry to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Wielding a 249-194-2 overall record, it is perhaps most impressive that he did all of this at one of the most academically rigorous schools in the country.
What Laycock was able to do in recruiting, despite stringent academic requirements, was nothing short of remarkable.
But we have to wonder…why the “e” at the end of his first name? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we finally have an answer.
After wondering for years, heck, decades, the world will finally know.
While monitoring the internet for daily W&M sports news (yes, we at the W&M Sports Blog actually do this, Roll Tribe), we came across an article by John O’Connor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In it, he tells us exactly why Jimmye is spelled with an “e.”
The mother of William & Mary football coach Jimmye Laycock was a guest at a 1995 Tribe luncheon. Ruth Laycock answered a common question: Why is there an “e” at the end of her son’s name?
Ruth Laycock said her husband, Albert, decided before Laycock was born that if the child was a boy, he would be called Jimmy, not James, not Jim. Ruth Laycock went along…but said she suggested an “e” at the end “because it dignifies the name. And he was very special.’’
Mystery solved. A dignified name indeed. GO TRIBE.
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