Corporation Dismisses Jordan as Head Coach

The Corporation dismissed Lloyd P. Jordan from his position as football coach yesterday, but did not act to name his successor.

Early yesterday afternoon the Corporation issued a crisp forty-word statement which gave no inkling of the group's intentions in regard to choosing the man to replace Jordan. The statement said:

"Thomas D. Bolles, chairman of the Faculty Committee on Athletic Sports, has announced that the President and Fellows of Harvard College, acting on the recommendation of the Faculty Committee, have today terminated Mr. Lloyd Jordan's appointment as coach of football."

Thus ended Jordan's seven-year tenure as Harvard's twentieth head coach, a term in which his teams compiled a record of 24 wins, 31 losses, and 3 ties. While in 1956 the Crimson eleven had only a 2 and 6 record, three of his other squads had winning records, and the 1954 team beat Yale and Princeton for the first time since 1941. He is the third straight football coach released before the expiration of his agreement with the University.

Jordan Claims No III Feeling

The reasons for Jordan's dismissal were not disclosed yesterday, but members of the Faculty had said earlier that he was objected to for being a "poor teacher," and they alleged particularly a failure to hold the confidence of players and other students. Incidents involving criticism of officials and of University admissions policies were also understood to be factors in the decision.

In St. Louis, where he is attending the NCAA coaches convention, Jordan insisted that there was no ill feeling between himself and anyone at Harvard. He wished "the best of success" to whom ever will succeed him, and commented, "I enjoyed working with many nice people at Harvard, especially the football squad."

While the Corporation decided to take up the last two years of Jordan's contract at about $12,500 per year, it announced no action on his successor. No information was available on when or how it would choose, but one member of the Faculty Committee said that a choice would be announced in less time than it took to pick Jordan as Art Valpey's successor in 1950.