Jimmy Karam (1912–2000)

James Thomas (Jimmy) Karam served as the head football coach at Little Rock Junior College (LRJC), which later became the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He operated his clothing store, Karam’s Men Store at 305 Main Street in Little Rock (Pulaski County), for close to fifty years.

Jimmy Karam was born on October 6, 1912, to Thomas Karam and Marie Ash Karam in Lake Village (Chicot County). Both of his parents emigrated from Syria to the United States in 1900, and his father worked as a dry goods merchant. Karam was the second of five children. He graduated from St. Bernard’s in Lake Village in 1932.

Karam attended Alabama Polytechnic College, which later became Auburn University, from 1932 until 1936. He was a member of the Tigers varsity football team, playing as a halfback from 1933 to 1936. Karam graduated in 1937 with a BS in education. He later joined the team as the backfield assistant to football head coach Jack Meagher for the 1937 season.

Following that season, Karam began working with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama. He later joined and became the chairman of the bargaining committee for the Etowah Rubber Workers Organization (ERWO). He and the ERWO fought against the United Rubber Workers of America (URWA), believing the organization to be communist sympathizers. Karam and other members of the ERWO were commonly referred to as the “Goodyear Gang” or “company thugs” due to their efforts for union busting. They were known for their harassment and physical violence toward URWA members, including beating both male and female employees who had union connections. On two occasions, URWA members attempted retaliation by trying to murder Karam: first, in a drive-by shooting on June 8, 1937, though Karam escaped unharmed, and second, in an attempted car bombing later that same month, using dynamite in his car. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the suspects were caught on June 21, 1937, with the dynamite in their vehicle and confessed to why they had it.

He returned to Lake Village and began working in the mercantile industry. He married Mary Louise Sexton on July 14, 1940, in Lake Village; they had two children, James Jr. and Mary Anne. The couple divorced in September 1948.

He enlisted into the U.S. Navy during World War II in May 1944. Karam was stationed at North Island Navy Base in Coronado, California. Karam served as the athletic director and coached the North Island, Coronado, California football team, winning the fleet air wing championship for his fleet.

In 1947, Little Rock Junior College announced that it would revive its football program after thirteen years. Karam was announced as the head coach in April 1947, becoming the sixth coach in program history. During his tenure, the university did not provide housing for athletes, provided little to no funding, and gave no athletic scholarships. He spoke with community members to raise funds to provide adequate resources for his players. This effort proved successful for the university and community, and raised morale amongst his players.

Karam became the winningest football coach in the school’s history in his three years as head coach, going 6–6 (1947), 7–3 (1948), and 11–0 (1949), qualifying all three seasons in postseason bowl games. The team won two out of three bowl games. Karam’s crowning achievement as in 1949, when the Trojans went undefeated to compete in the Junior College Rose Bowl. Little Rock Junior College defeated Santa Ana Junior College 25–19, winning the university’s first and only national championship. Karam would be voted by Arkansas Democrat readers as its Man of the Year in 1949. He was enshrined in the UA Little Rock Hall of Fame in February 1992 for his contribution to the university’s football program.

After leaving Little Rock Junior College, Karam started a clothing business, Karam’s Men Store, in September 1950. It was located at 305 Main Street in downtown Little Rock until December 1977 when it moved to 609 Main Street, to a location formerly located by Readmore and Dillard’s. His business grew to more than twenty stores in Arkansas as well as in North Carolina, Mississippi, and West Virginia. The downtown Little Rock store operated for nearly fifty years.

Karam remarried in 1951; he and his second wife, Eleanor Blakney, had no children and remained married until his death.

Karam’s friendship with Arkansas governor Orval Eugene Faubus was highly publicized. Karam ran unsuccessfully for a seat on on the Little Rock School Board in 1951, 1954, and 1958. Karam was a prominent member of the Capital Citizens’ Council, which led the opposition to desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. The council supported Karam in the Little Rock School Board election in 1958. He had a religious conversion to Christianity in 1959 and publicly apologized for what he called “his racial antics” in the Arkansas Democrat, saying he had been worried for his daughter, who attended Little Rock Central High School. Karam frequently worked alongside evangelist Billy Graham at his revivals and events in Little Rock and was a member at Immanuel Baptist Church. Karam continued his clothing store in Little Rock until his death; his store and assets were sold in June 2001.

Karam died on May 7, 2000, and is buried at Pinecrest Cemetery in Alexander (Pulaski and Saline counties).

For additional information:
“2 Candidates File for School Board.” Arkansas Gazette, February 28, 1954, p. 22A.

Crouch, Elisa. “Clothier, Coach was Crusader for His Faith.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 8, 2000, p. 4B.

“Jimmy Karam Grid Coach at Jaycee.” Arkansas Gazette, April 26, 1947, p. 8.

“Jimmy Karam Will Open Men’s Clothing Store.” Arkansas Gazette, August 20, 1950, p. 4A.

“Karam to Run for No. 2 Post on School Board.” Arkansas Gazette, September 4, 1951, p. 7A.

Kelley, Robin O. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

“Laster in the Race: Karam Doesn’t List His Slate for Board.” Arkansas Gazette, November 15, 1958, pp. 1A, 2A.

Lester, Jim. The People’s College: Little Rock Junior College and Little Rock University, 1927–1969. Little Rock: August House, 1987.

Martin, Charles H. Southern Labor Relations in Transition: Gadsden, Alabama, 1930–1943. Journal of Southern History 47, no. 4 (November 1981). Online at https://www.jstor.org/stable/2207402 (accessed November 3, 2026).

Phillips, Charles L. A History of United Rubber Works in Gadsden, Alabama, 1936–1943. Online at https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/6941 (accessed November 3, 2026).

“Two Business Liquidations at One Location: Men’s Clothing Store & Wedding/Dress Shop Inventory.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 3, 2001, p. 23F.

Ward, John L. “Jimmy Karam Explains His New-Found Happiness.” Arkansas Democrat, August 16, 1959, pp. 1A, 2A.

James Wethington
UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture