James Hopper

James Marie Hopper (July 23, 1876 – August 28, 1956) was an American writer and novelist. He was also an early college football player and coach, playing at the University of California, Berkeley in the late 1890s and then serving single seasons as head football coach at Nevada State University—now known as the University of Nevada, Reno—in 1900 and at his alma mater, California, in 1904. During his lifetime, Hopper published 450 short stories and six novels. Early life, education, and college football career Hopper was born on July 23, 1876, in Paris, France, to John Joseph Hopper, a native of Ireland, and his wife, Victoire Blanche Lefebvre. He attended schooling in Paris and later immigrated to the United States with his mother to California, where he completed his preliminary education. Hopper graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with the class of 1898. While at Berkeley, he played football and first as an end and later at quarterback. He completed law school at the Hastings Law School. He passed the state bar examination but never practiced law. Instead he worked as a reporter on the San Francisco Chronicle, and was on the staff of The Wave, a literary San Francisco weekly.