Harold Olsen

For the American football offensive tackle, see Harold Olson.

Harold G. Olsen (May 12, 1895 – October 29, 1953) was a college men's basketball coach. The Rice Lake, Wisconsin native was the head coach of the Ohio State University from 1922 to 1946. That year, he became the first head coach of the BAA's Chicago Stags, where he coached almost three seasons before being replaced by Philip Brownstein. Olsen also coached at Northwestern University (1950–1952).

Harold Olsen

Olsen from the 1946 Makio
Biographical details
Born	(1895-05-12)May 12, 1895 Rice Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	October 29, 1953(1953-10-29) (aged 58) Rice Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1914–1917	Wisconsin
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1918–1919	Bradley
1919–1922	Ripon
1922–1946	Ohio State
1946–1949	Chicago Stags
1950–1952	Northwestern
Football
1919–1921	Ripon
Baseball
1919	Bradley
Head coaching record
Overall	311–241 (college basketball) 95–63 (BAA) 13–6–1 (college football) 0–1 (college baseball)
Tournaments	6–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Basketball 5 Big Ten (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946) NCAA Runner-up (1939) 3 NCAA Final Four (1944–1946)
Awards
Helms Foundation All-American (1917)
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1959 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

While playing at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1914–1917), Olsen was named two-time All-Big Ten. After graduating from Wisconsin, he began his coaching career at Bradley University and Ripon College. In 1922 Olsen followed George Trautman as head coach of the Ohio State University. In 24 years he guided the Buckeyes to a 259–197 record, as well as five Big Ten championships (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946). In 1939, Olsen spearheaded efforts to create the NCAA postseason national playoffs, now known as the NCAA tournament. Olsen also helped initiate the 10-second rule. In 1959, he was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.

Head coaching record

College football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Ripon Crimson (Independent) (1919–1921)
1919	Ripon	6–1
1920	Ripon	4–3
1921	Ripon	3–2–1
Ripon:		13–6–1
Total:		13–6–1

College basketball

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Bradley Indians (Independent) (1918–1919)
1918–19	Bradley	6–9
Bradley:		6–9 (.400)
Ripon Crimson (Independent) (1919–1922)
1919–20	Ripon	11–2
1920–21	Ripon	9–3
1921–22	Ripon	7–5
Ripon:		27–10 (.730)
Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (1922–1946)
1922–23	Ohio State	4–11	1–11	T–9th
1923–24	Ohio State	12–5	7–5	4th
1924–25	Ohio State	14–2	11–1	1st
1925–26	Ohio State	10–7	6–6	5th
1926–27	Ohio State	11–6	6–6	7th
1927–28	Ohio State	5–12	3–9	T–7th
1928–29	Ohio State	9–8	6–6	T–5th
1929–30	Ohio State	9–15	1–9	9th
1930–31	Ohio State	4–13	3–9	9th
1931–32	Ohio State	9–9	5–7	6th
1932–33	Ohio State	17–3	10–2	T–1st
1933–34	Ohio State	8–12	4–8	T–8th
1934–35	Ohio State	12–7	8–4	T–4th
1935–36	Ohio State	12–8	5–7	T–6th
1936–37	Ohio State	13–7	7–5	5th
1937–38	Ohio State	12–8	7–5	T–3rd
1938–39	Ohio State	16–7	10–2	1st	NCAA Runner-up
1939–40	Ohio State	13–7	8–4	3rd
1940–41	Ohio State	10–10	7–5	T–3rd
1941–42	Ohio State	6–14	4–11	9th
1942–43	Ohio State	8–9	5–7	T–6th
1943–44	Ohio State	14–7	10–2	1st	NCAA Final Four
1944–45	Ohio State	15–5	10–2	2nd	NCAA Final Four
1945–46	Ohio State	16–5	10–2	1st	NCAA Final Four
Ohio State:		259–197 (.568)	154–135 (.533)
Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Conference) (1950–1952)
1950–51	Northwestern	12–10	7–7	T–4th
1951–52	Northwestern	7–15	4–10	T–8th
Northwestern:		19–25 (.432)	11–17 (.393)
Total:		311–241 (.563)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Professional basketball

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
CHS	1946–47	61	39	22	.639	1st in Western	11	5	6	.455	Lost in BAA Finals
CHS	1947–48	48	28	20	.583	3rd in Western	5	2	3	.400	Lost in BAA Semifinals
CHS	1948–49	49	28	21	.571	3rd in Western	2	0	2	.000	Lost in BAA Div. Semifinals
Career		158	95	63	.601		18	7	11	.389

See also

• List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach

References

External links

• Harold Olsen at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Harold Olsen at Find a Grave