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Wikipedia

John Wooden

John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men's or women's basketball.[1][2][3][4] Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times.

John Wooden
Wooden circa 1972
Biographical details
Born(1910-10-14)October 14, 1910
Hall, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJune 4, 2010(2010-06-04) (aged 99)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1929–1932Purdue
1932–1937Indianapolis Kautskys
1937–1938Whiting / Hammond Ciesar All-Americans
1938–1939Indianapolis Kautskys
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1933–1935Dayton HS
1935–1944South Bend Central HS
1946–1948Indiana State
1948–1975UCLA
Baseball
1948Indiana State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1946–1948Indiana State
Head coaching record
Overall664–162 (college basketball)
7–7 (college baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
As player:

As head coach:

Awards
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1960 (as a player) 1973 (as a coach)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUS Navy
Years of service1942–1946
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War II

As a 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m) guard[5] with the Purdue Boilermakers, Wooden was the first college basketball player to be named an All-American three times, and the 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.[6][7] He played professionally in the National Basketball League (NBL). Wooden was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (1960) and as a coach (1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories.[a]

One of the most revered coaches in the history of sports,[2] Wooden was beloved by his former players, among them Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players (including his "Pyramid of Success") many of which were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball. Wooden's 29-year coaching career and overwhelming critical acclaim for his leadership have created a legacy not only in sports but also extending to business, personal success, and organizational leadership.[2]

Early life and playing career edit

John Robert Wooden was born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana,[9] the son of Roxie (1887–1959) and Joshua Wooden (1882–1950),[10] and moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918.[11] He had three brothers:[4] Maurice, Daniel, and William,[10] and two sisters, one (unnamed) who died in infancy,[10] and another, Harriet Cordelia, who died from diphtheria at the age of two.[10]

When he was a boy, Wooden's role model was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a legendary team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to the town of Martinsville when he was 14,[12] Wooden led his high school team to a state tournament title in 1927.[13] He was a three-time All-State selection.[3]

 
Wooden at Purdue

After graduating from high school in 1928, he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert. The 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Poretta Power Poll.[14] John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue, and he was the first player ever to be named a three-time consensus All-American.[15] In 1932, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, recognizing one student athlete from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school, for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career.[16] He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.[17] Wooden is also an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity.[18] Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt.[15] He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English.[4]

After college, Wooden spent several years playing professional basketball in the NBL with the Indianapolis Kautskys, Whiting Ciesar All-Americans, and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans,[19][20][21] while he taught and coached in the high school ranks.[20] During one 46-game stretch, he made 134 consecutive free throws.[19] He was named to the All-NBL First Team for the 1937–38 season.[21]

During World War II in 1942, he joined the United States Navy. He served until 1946 and left the service as a lieutenant.[4]

Coaching career edit

High school edit

 
The plaque in the gymnasium Dayton (KY) High School

Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky. His first year at Dayton, the 1932–33 season,[22] marked the only time he had a losing record (6–11) as a coach.[23] After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, where he taught English, coached basketball and served as the athletic director at South Bend Central High School[24] until entering the Armed Forces.[25] Wooden spent two years at Dayton and nine years at Central. His high school coaching record over 11 years was 218–42.[3]

Indiana State University edit

After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State Teachers College, later renamed Indiana State University, in Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1946 to 1948,[4] succeeding his high school coach, Glenn M. Curtis.[26] In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director,[3][4] all while teaching and completing his master's degree in education.[26][27] In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning black players.[26][28] One of Wooden's players, Clarence Walker, was a black man from East Chicago, Indiana.[26]

That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University asked him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired, when Wooden would take over the program. Citing his loyalty to Taube, Wooden declined the offer, because this would have effectively made Taube a lame-duck coach.

In 1948, Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title. The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African-American players that year,[29] and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville. This was the only championship game a Wooden-coached team ever lost. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament.[29]

UCLA edit

 
Wooden with assistant coach Bill Putnam and trainer Ducky Drake, c. 1958

In the 1948–1949 season, Wooden was hired by the University of California, Los Angeles, to be the fourth basketball coach in the school's history. He succeeded Fred Cozens, Caddy Works, and Wilbur Johns; Johns became the school's athletic director. Wooden signed a three-year contract for $6,000 in the first year. Prior to being hired at UCLA, he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota, and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest, but inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden instead accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden immediately after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had already given his word to UCLA.[4][30]

Wooden had immediate success, fashioning the mark of the rarest of coaches, an "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. Part of this success was due to his unique offensive system, the same system that countless coaches use today. John Wooden stated, "I believe my system is perfectly suited to counter all the modern defenses I have seen, and that includes run-and-jump, 1–3–1 trapping, box-and-one, triangle-and-two, and switching man-to-man."[31]

Prior to Wooden's arrival at UCLA, the basketball program had only had two conference championship seasons in the previous 18 years. In his first season, he took a Bruins team that had posted a 12–13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division champion with a 22–7 record,[4] the most wins in a season for UCLA since the school started playing basketball in 1919.[32] He surpassed that number the next season with 24–7 and a second division title and overall conference title in 1950, and would add two more in his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected a total of two division titles since the PCC began divisional play, and had not won a conference title of any sort since winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1927.

 
Wooden in 1960

In spite of these achievements, Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position, and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles. When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return to West Lafayette and finally accept the head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word, even though Purdue offered more money, a car and housing.[33]

By the 1955–56 season, Wooden had established a record of sustained success at UCLA. That year, he guided the team to its first undefeated PCC conference title and a 17-game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Phil Woolpert's University of San Francisco team (who had Bill Russell and K.C. Jones) that eventually won the 1956 NCAA tournament. However, UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons, finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament, as the Pete Newell-coached teams of the California Golden Bears took control of the conference and won the 1959 NCAA tournament. Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden's team during that time period was a probation that was imposed on all UCLA sports teams in the aftermath of a scandal that involved illegal payments made to players on the school's football team. The probation was also extended to three additional schools: the University of Southern California, California and Stanford. The scandal resulted in the dismantling of the PCC conference.[34]

By the 1961–1962 season, the probation was no longer in place and Wooden returned his team to the top of the conference. This time, however, they would take the next step, and in so doing, unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball. UCLA reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. A narrow loss, due largely to a controversial foul call in a 1962 semi-final game against Ed Jucker's eventual national champion Cincinnati team, convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships.[34] Two seasons later in 1964, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that the team's small-sized players and fast-paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense, which increased the probability of turnovers by the opposing team.[34] The result was a dramatic increase in scoring, giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went 30–0 on its way to the school's first basketball national championship and first undefeated season as the Bruins beat Vic Bubas' taller and slower racially segregated Duke team 98–83 in the final. Walt Hazzard fouled out of the game late in the second half on a player control foul, but this proved to be insignificant when he cut down the net in celebration and was named tournament most valuable player. Gail Goodrich (27 points), Keith Erickson, Fred Slaughter, Jack Hirsch, and reserve Kenny Washington (26 points, 12 rebounds) contributed to the UCLA win. With no player taller than 6 feet, 5 inches, the Bruins' speed and zone press forced 29 turnovers and nullified the height advantage of Duke's Hack Tison and Jay Buckley, two 6-foot, 10-inch players.

In the 1964-1965 campaign, the defending NCAA champions got off to an ominous start when UCLA lost to Illinois by 27 points in its opening game.[35] It was all uphill after that as the squad repeated as national champions with Gail Goodrich, Kenny Washington, and Doug McIntosh. The Bruins upended Dave Strack's Michigan team 91–80 in the finals of the NCAA tournament. Goodrich shared Player of the Year honors with Princeton's Bill Bradley. The 1966 squad was denied a chance at a triple crown when it finished second to Oregon State in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (now the Pac-12). UCLA was ineligible to play in the NCAA tournament that year because in those days only conference champions received a bid to the tournament. The Bruins' 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance with sophomore star Alcindor, reclaiming not only the conference title, but the national crown with another 30–0 season, and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden's retirement immediately following the 1975 NCAA championship.

The resurgence of the Bruins under Wooden made it obvious that they needed a new home. Since 1932, the Bruins had played at the Men's Gym. It normally seated 2,400, but had been limited to 1,500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal. This forced the Bruins to move games to Pan Pacific Auditorium, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and other venues around Los Angeles when they were expected to attract larger crowds—something that happened fairly often after the Bruins' first national title. At Wooden's urging, a much larger on-campus facility, Pauley Pavilion, was built in time for the 1965–66 season. The building in Westwood was christened on November 27, 1965, in a special game that pitted the UCLA varsity against the UCLA freshmen. It was Lew Alcindor's (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) freshman season (freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity in those days). UCLA was the defending national champion and ranked number 1 in the pre-season poll. The freshmen easily won the game by a score of 75–60. It was a powerful indication of things to come.

A rule change was instituted for the 1967–1968 season, primarily because of Alcindor's towering play near the basket. The dunk shot was outlawed and would not be reinstated until the 1976–1977 season, which was shortly after Wooden's retirement. This was at least the second time that the rules committee had initiated change in response to the domination of a superstar player; in 1944, the goaltending rule was instituted to counter George Mikan's dominant defensive play near the basket. In January, UCLA took its 47-game winning streak to the Astrodome in Houston, where the Bruins met Guy Lewis' Houston squad, who had Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney, and Ken Spain, in the Game of the Century in the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. Houston upset UCLA 71–69, as Hayes scored 39 points. In a post-game interview, Wooden said, "We have to start over." UCLA went undefeated the rest of the year and thrashed Houston 101–69 in the semi-final rematch of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship. Sports Illustrated ran the front cover headline Lew's Revenge. The rout of Houston.[36] UCLA limited Hayes to only 10 points; he had been averaging 37.7 points per game. Wooden credited Norman for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes.[37][38] The Game of the Century is also remembered for an incident involving Wooden and Edgar Lacy. Lacy was ineffective on defense against Elvin Hayes, and Wooden benched him after 11 minutes. Lacy never re-entered the game. Furious with Wooden, Lacy quit the team three days later, telling the Los Angeles Times "I've never enjoyed playing for that man."[39] UCLA's talent during the 1968 NCAA tournament was so overwhelming that they placed four players on the All-Tournament team. In addition to Alcindor, Lucius Allen, Mike Warren, and "Lefty" Lynn Shackelford were given accolades. Kenny Heitz was also a member of UCLA's 1968 team.

Lew Alcindor finished his career at UCLA in 1969 with a third consecutive national championship when the Bruins beat George King's Purdue team 92–72 in the title game. The three straight titles were matched by three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament as Alcindor established himself as college basketball's superstar during the three-peat performance. Alcindor and Wooden would continue their communication even after he left UCLA. In 2017, Jabbar wrote a book, "Coach Wooden and Me", which details their long-standing friendship.[40]

A sportswriter commented that everybody outside of UCLA would be happy that glorious day in June when Alcindor finally graduated and college basketball could go back to the routine method of determining a national champion. This prophecy would prove to be ludicrous over the next six years. The 1970 squad proved that nobody was indispensable to the success of the UCLA program, not even Alcindor, as Sidney Wicks, Henry Bibby, Curtis Rowe, John Vallely, and Kenny Booker carried the Bruins to their fourth consecutive NCAA title with an 80–69 win over upstart Jacksonville, coached by Joe Williams. Wicks and Rowe double teamed 7-foot Artis Gilmore on defense and shut down the high-powered Jacksonville offense, which had been averaging 100 points per game. Gilmore and 5'10" Rex Morgan had been dubbed "Batman and Robin" by the press.

In the 1971 NCAA championship game, Steve Patterson outscored Howard Porter of Jack Kraft's scandal-plagued Villanova squad as UCLA won 68–62. The following year, UCLA had its closest game in all of Wooden's 10 championships, beating Hugh Durham's Florida State team 81–76 to take the 1972 title. After the game, Bill Walton said, "We didn't play well."

 
Wooden with Digger Phelps in 1973, after UCLA beat Notre Dame for their NCAA-record 61st straight win

The 1972–1973 season was one of the most memorable campaigns in the history of UCLA basketball. Freshmen became eligible to play varsity ball again, and the Bruins went 30–0 and stretched their winning streak to a record 75 straight in breezing through the NCAA tournament by blowing out Gene Bartow's Memphis State team 87–66 in the final, as Bill Walton hit an incredible 21 of 22 field goal attempts. Walton and Wooden were everybody's Player and Coach of the Year again. Keith Wilkes, Greg Lee, and Larry Hollyfield were members of that team, and Wilkes would go on to win four NBA championships as well.

UCLA's two big streaks came to an end during the 1973–1974 season. In January, the winning streak stopped at 88 games when Digger Phelps's Notre Dame squad upended the Bruins 71–70 in South Bend. Two months later, Norm Sloan's North Carolina State team defeated UCLA 80–77 in double overtime in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. David Thompson was NC State's All-American, and Tom Burleson did an excellent job on defense against Bill Walton. UCLA had beaten the Wolfpack by 18 points early in the season, but things were different when they met in March.

Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, a 93–59 victory over Stanford. Four weeks later, following a 75–74 overtime victory over former player and former assistant coach Denny Crum and Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game, Wooden announced that he would retire at age 64 immediately after the championship game.[41] His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly when Richard Washington and David Meyers combined for 52 points as UCLA responded with a 92–85 win over Joe B. Hall and Kentucky to claim Wooden's first career coaching victory over the Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship. Marques Johnson and Andre McCarter were also key contributors on Wooden's final championship team. The success of Wooden's last team was particularly impressive because it had no marquee stars such as Alcindor, Walton, Hazzard, and Goodrich; the team was a group of rugged opportunists.

Andy Hill, who was on three Bruin teams under Wooden that won NCAA championships from 1970 to 1972, decades later co-wrote with Wooden the 2001 book Be Quick—But Don't Hurry! Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime.[42][43] The bestseller details how Hill applied his experience as a player under Wooden to achieve success in his career as a television executive.[42][44][45] His goal was to demonstrate the relevance of Wooden's coaching style to the business world. The book also delves into his personal relationship with Wooden as his coach and mentor.[42]

In 2004, a 93-year-old Wooden stated that he would not mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties.[46]

During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood", though he personally disdained the nickname.[33] He gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.[3] His UCLA teams also established an NCAA men's basketball record winning streak of 88 games[47][48] and four perfect 30–0 seasons.[3] They also won 38 straight games in NCAA tournaments[3] and 98 straight home wins at Pauley Pavilion, where Wooden compiled a 150–3 record over 10 seasons.

"He never made more than $35,000 a year salary (not including camps and speaking engagements), including 1975, the year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise", wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN. He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift.[49] According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him.

Head coaching record edit

College basketball edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Indiana State Sycamores (Indiana Intercollegiate Conference) (1946–1948)
1946–47 Indiana State 17–8 5–2 1st NAIA invitation declined
1947–48 Indiana State 27–7 7–0 1st NAIA Runner-up
Indiana State: 44–15 (.746) 12–2 (.857)
UCLA Bruins[32] (Pacific Coast Conference) (1948–1959)
1948–49 UCLA 22–7 10–2 1st (South)
1949–50 UCLA 24–7 10–2 1st NCAA Regional Fourth Place
1950–51 UCLA 19–10 9–4 T–1st (South)
1951–52 UCLA 19–12 8–4 1st (South) NCAA Regional Fourth Place
1952–53 UCLA 16–8 6–6 3rd (South)
1953–54 UCLA 18–7 7–5 2nd (South)
1954–55 UCLA 21–5 11–1 1st (South)
1955–56 UCLA 22–6 16–0 1st NCAA Regional Third Place
1956–57 UCLA 22–4 13–3 T–2nd
1957–58 UCLA 16–10 10–6 3rd
1958–59 UCLA 16–9 10–6 T–3rd
UCLA Bruins[32] (Pacific-8 Conference) (1959–1975)
1959–60 UCLA 14–12 7–5 2nd
1960–61 UCLA 18–8 7–5 2nd
1961–62 UCLA 18–11 10–2 1st NCAA University Division Fourth Place
1962–63 UCLA 20–9 8–5 T–1st NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1963–64 UCLA 30–0 15–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1964–65 UCLA 28–2 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1965–66 UCLA 18–8 10–4 2nd
1966–67 UCLA 30–0 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1967–68 UCLA 29–1 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1968–69 UCLA 29–1 13–1 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1969–70 UCLA 28–2 12–2 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1970–71 UCLA 29–1 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1971–72 UCLA 30–0 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1972–73 UCLA 30–0 14–0 1st NCAA University Division Champion
1973–74 UCLA 26–4 12–2 1st NCAA Division I Third Place
1974–75 UCLA 28–3 12–2 1st NCAA Division I Champion
UCLA: 620–147[3] (.808) 300–67 (.817)
Total: 664–162 (.804)

      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

List of NCAA championships edit

Year Record Final Opponent Final score Notes
1964 30–0 Duke 98–83 John Wooden won his first national title in his sixteenth season at UCLA. Senior Walt Hazzard starred for UCLA as the Bruins made a 16–0 run late in the first half to beat Duke and its All-American Jeff Mullins.[50] Hazzard was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated driving through the Duke players.[51]
1965 28–2 Michigan 91–80 The Bruins were led by senior All-American guard Gail Goodrich and used an effective zone press. Goodrich scored 42 points in the final against Michigan and Cazzie Russell.[50]
1967 30–0 Dayton 79–64 The Bruins started a junior and four sophomores, which included Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). UCLA defeated unranked Dayton and Don May in the title game.[50]
1968 29–1 North Carolina 78–55 UCLA's 47-game winning streak ended on January 20 when the Bruins were defeated by Houston and All-American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71–69 in front of the largest college basketball crowd in NCAA history (52,693). The showdown was the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. The game was known as the Game of the Century. Lew Alcindor was limited from having been hospitalized the week before with a scratched cornea. The Bruins, at full strength, avenged the loss in a rematch with Houston in the NCAA semi-finals, as they beat the Cougars 101–69. UCLA then defeated North Carolina in the title game to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice.[50]
1969 29–1 Purdue 92–72 UCLA defeated Wooden's alma mater Purdue and its All-American Rick Mount in the championship game. UCLA became the only school to this day to win three consecutive NCAA basketball championships and Wooden became the first coach to win five NCAA championships. Lew Alcindor is the first player to win three national championships, as well as garner three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament. He finished his career at UCLA with an 88–2 record.[50]
1970 28–2 Jacksonville 80–69 Despite the graduation of Alcindor, UCLA won its fourth championship in a row. The Bruins came back from a nine-point first half deficit as Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Henry Bibby, and the rest of the Bruins outlasted Artis Gilmore, Rex Morgan, Chip Dublin, and Pembrook Burrows of Jacksonville in the title game.[50]
1971 29–1 Villanova 68–62 Senior Steve Patterson scored 29 points in the championship game against Villanova and Howard Porter as UCLA won its fifth in a row. In its regional final, UCLA overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat Long Beach State 57–55.[50] Patterson's portrait was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Unexpected Hero".[52]
1972 30–0 Florida State 81–76 Sophomore Bill Walton led the Bruins to their sixth championship in a row. The Bruins had a rough time with Florida State and its great ball handler, Otto Petty, in the closest game of all their title wins, but their margin of victory in the NCAA tournament was a record 30.3 points. They became the first team to post three 30–0 seasons.[50] John Wooden was selected by Sports Illustrated as its "Sportsman of the Year" for his contributions to college basketball.
1973 30–0 Memphis State 87–66 The Bruins became the only team in history with back-to-back undefeated seasons as they won their seventh straight championship. In the title game, junior Bill Walton hit 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scored 44 points in one of the greatest offensive performances in the history of the NCAA tournament.[50] Memphis State coach Gene Bartow would replace Wooden at UCLA three years later.
1975 28–3 Kentucky 92–85 Coach Wooden ended his 27-year UCLA coaching career by winning his tenth national championship in 12 years. He announced his retirement at age 64 during the post-game press conference of the semi-final win against Louisville, and the UCLA players promptly responded by giving him a going away present with a win over Kentucky and its captain, Jimmy Dan Conner. For the Bruins, Richard Washington and Dave Meyers scored 28 and 24 points respectively to offset Kevin Grevey's game-high 34.[50]

Legacy edit

When Wooden arrived at UCLA for the 1948–1949 season, he inherited a little-known program that played in a cramped gym. He left it as a national powerhouse with 10 national championships— the most successful rebuilding project in college basketball history. John Wooden ended his UCLA coaching career with a 620–147 overall record and a winning percentage of .808. These figures do not include his two-year record at Indiana State prior to taking over the duties at UCLA.

In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time".[53]

Honors edit

Wooden was recognized numerous times for his achievements. He was named NCAA College Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1967, he was the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award with Billie Jean King. In 1960, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player[54] and as a coach in 1973,[55] becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach.[4][8]

After his coaching career ended, UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus.[56] On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognised for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five people—along with Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith—who were selected to represent the inaugural class.[57] In 2009, he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honouree in the Missouri Valley Conference's Lifetime Achievement category.[27] Wooden said the honour he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S". by his denomination, the Christian Church.[50]

Since 1977, the John R. Wooden Award has been the most coveted of the four college basketball player-of-the-year awards. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.[58] The MVP award for the McDonald's All-American Game in high-school basketball is named the "John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award". The Wooden Legacy is held in his honour.

In 1998 the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award was created to be given to a former player or coach who exemplifies character, leadership and faith. This Award is presented at the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four and is hosted by Athletes in Action.

On February 3, 1984, Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame.[59]

 
John Wooden Recreation Centre on the campus of UCLA

In 2000, Wooden was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. The award was created to honor Coach Lombardi's legacy, and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the Coach.

Wooden has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name,[50] and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School.[60] In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden.[61] Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court", Wooden asked for the change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court", insisting that his wife's name should come first.[62] In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honour on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court".[63] The student recreation centre at UCLA is also named in his honor.[64] Also in 2008, Wooden was honoured with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.[65] On November 8, 2008, Indiana State officially named the floor at the Hulman Centre The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946–47 and 1947–48 teams.[66] The Sycamores christened the newly named floor by defeating the Albion College (MI) Britons in an exhibition game.

On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. It was presented by George W. Bush after a three-year campaign by Andre McCarter, who was on Wooden's 1975 National Championship team. The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach established the John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009, with Wooden being the inaugural recipient.[67] In 1986, John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University – the first year the award was given.

In 1976, Wooden received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[68][69]

On May 17, 2004, Wooden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club.[70]

On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California, near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office.[71] This act was signed by President George W. Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman.[3]

 

In July 2010, Wooden's alma mater, Purdue University, named a street on campus after him.[72]

On October 14, 2010, the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a "John Wooden Day Celebration" to honor Wooden's 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university.[73] A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Centre is a recreation of Wooden's den office in honor of his memory on campus.[74]

Golf Digest lists Wooden as one of four people to score both a double eagle and a hole in one in the same round of golf.[75] The feat was accomplished in 1947 at the South Bend Country Club in South Bend, Indiana.

The flagship leadership development program of Wooden's fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, is named "The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle" after Coach Wooden and his wife, Nellie.[76] Coach Wooden's maxims and creed are central to the teaching of leadership development at the institute.

On October 26, 2012, a bronze statue of Wooden by sculptor Blair Buswell was dedicated at the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion.[77][78]

Wooden's Legacy, a 2012 public artwork statue by Jeffrey Rouse, is exhibited in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The United States Postal Service will honor Wooden as the subject of a first class forever postage stamp to be issued in 2024. [79]

Following Wooden edit

Three of Wooden's former players would take over the program and leave within a few years. Gene Bartow, Gary Cunningham, Larry Brown, and Larry Farmer were the four coaches who entered and left UCLA in the nine years following Wooden. One former UCLA head coach, former ESPN analyst and former St. John's head coach Steve Lavin (fired from UCLA in 2003), has said "The mythology and pathology of UCLA basketball isn't going to change" due to Wooden's legacy and believes that every basketball coach will eventually be fired or forced out from UCLA.[80]

Bartow, Wooden's immediate successor at UCLA, went 28–5 in 1976, but was blown out twice that season by Bob Knight's eventual undefeated national-champion Indiana Hoosiers, the second time in the Final Four, and lost 76–75 in the 1977 West Region semifinals to Idaho State. Bartow won 85.2% of his games (compared to Wooden's 80.8%) in two years, yet supposedly received death threats from unsatisfied UCLA fans.[citation needed]

Wooden himself often joked about being a victim of his own success, calling his successors on the phone and playfully identifying himself ominously as "we the alumni..."[81] In his autobiography, Wooden recounts walking off the court in 1975 after his last game as a coach, having just won his tenth title, only to have a UCLA fan walk up and say, "Great win coach, this makes up for letting us down last year" (UCLA had lost in the semifinals in double overtime in 1974 to eventual national champion North Carolina State).[82]

Bartow's successor, Wooden protege Gary Cunningham, posted an even better two-year record after Bartow, .862 (50–8) and No. 2 rankings each year, but could not proceed past two wins in the NCAAs, and left. Larry Brown came next, racking up more losses, 17, in two years than UCLA had experienced the previous four. With a near-magical end-of-season run typical of his career, he managed to coach UCLA into the title game in 1980, where the Bruins lost to Louisville, coached by Denny Crum. Coincidentally, Crum had played for Wooden at UCLA before working for him there as an assistant coach. Brown then left UCLA. Former UCLA players Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard then took turns directing the UCLA program from 1981 to 1988. Hazzard's 1985 team won the National Invitation Tournament.[83]

UCLA went 20 years after Wooden's retirement before winning another national championship, finally hanging a banner again in 1995 under coach Jim Harrick, when Ed O'Bannon starred for the Bruins as they beat Arkansas 89–78 in the title game and denied Nolan Richardson back-to-back titles. In 2006, Ben Howland led the team back to the national championship game for the first time since the 1995 title game, but they were defeated 73–57 by the Florida Gators and their star player Joakim Noah.[32] Harrick was the only coach of John Wooden's nine successors who has guided the Bruins to an NCAA championship.

Personal life edit

Wooden met his future wife, Nellie "Nell" Riley, when he was a freshman in high school[84] They were both 21 years of age when they married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932 and afterward attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate.[85] The couple had a son, James Hugh Wooden, and a daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen.[3] Nellie died on March 21, 1985[3] from cancer at age 73.[86]

Wooden remained devoted to Nellie's memory until his own death 25 years after her passing. He kept to a monthly ritual—health permitting—on the 21st of every month, when he would visit her crypt in the mausoleum, then write a love letter to her. After completing each letter, he placed it in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.[87] Wooden stopped writing the letters because of failing eyesight in the last months of his life.[88]

In mourning Nellie's death, Wooden was comforted by his faith.[89] He was a devout Christian, considering his beliefs more important to him than basketball: "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior."[90] Wooden's faith strongly influenced his life. He read the Bible daily and attended the First Christian Church.[89] He said that he hoped his faith was apparent to others: "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."[91]

In a 2009 interview, he described himself politically as a "liberal", who had voted for some Republican presidential candidates.[92]

Final years and death edit

 
Wooden at a ceremony on his 96th birthday

Wooden was in good physical health until the later years of his life. On April 3, 2006, he spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital, receiving treatment for diverticulitis.[93] He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon, with his daughter quoted as saying her father was "doing well" upon his subsequent release.[94] Wooden was hospitalized on March 1, 2008, after a fall in his home. He broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall, but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given around-the-clock supervision.[95] In February 2009, he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia.[96]

On May 26, 2010, Wooden was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from dehydration.[97] He remained hospitalized there and died of natural causes at age 99 on June 4, 2010.[98][99][100] He was survived by his son, daughter, three grandsons, four granddaughters, and 13 great-grandchildren. Following a private ceremony, Wooden was interred with his wife Nellie in an outdoor community mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. A public memorial service was held two weeks later at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Seven Point Creed edit

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed[101] was given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school:

  1. Be true to yourself.
  2. Make each day your masterpiece.
  3. Help others.
  4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
  5. Make friendship a fine art.
  6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
  7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Wooden also lectured and authored a book about the Pyramid of Success.[102] The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for succeeding at basketball and at life. In his later years he was hired by corporations to deliver inspirational lectures and even appeared in commercials for Hartford Insurance and the NCAA. Following his death in June 2010—shortly after the basketball season— all UCLA sports teams wore either a patch or helmet sticker with the initials "JRW" inside a black pyramid for the remainder of the season, in honor of his philosophy. Furthermore, the men's basketball team continues to wear the patch as of 2019, though not in black. It is generally known that he received lecture fees that exceeded the salaries he was paid as a coach. Wooden proudly claimed that these late in life windfalls allowed him to set up education accounts for all of his grandchildren. At the top of the Pyramid of Success was "Competitive Greatness" which Wooden defined as "Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day."[103]

Wooden was also the author of several other books about basketball and life.

Among Wooden's maxims:

  • Failing to prepare is preparing to fail (from Benjamin Franklin)
  • Flexibility is the key to stability
  • Be quick, but don't hurry[104][105]
  • Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference

Publications edit

  • John Wooden and Steve Jamison (2010) The Wisdom of Wooden: My Century On and Off the Court, McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-0071751162
  • John Wooden and Don Yaeger (2009) A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-59691-701-9
  • John Wooden and Steve Jamison (2009) Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-162614-9
  • John Wooden and Steve Jamison (2007) The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-0-07-148435-0
  • John Wooden with Swen Nater (2006) John Wooden's UCLA Offense, Human Kinetics. ISBN 978-0-7360-6180-3
  • John Wooden and Steve Jamison (2005) Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization, McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978-0-07-145339-4
  • John Wooden, Jay Carty (2005) Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success Playbook, Revell. ISBN 978-0800726263
  • John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2004) My Personal Best, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-143792-9
  • John Wooden, Jay Carty (2003) Coach Wooden One-on-One, Regal. ISBN 978-0830732913
  • Andrew Hill with John Wooden (2001) Be Quick – But Don't Hurry: Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime, Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-0743213882
  • John Wooden with Steve Jamison (1997) Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0-8092-3041-9
  • John Wooden with Jack Tobin (1972) They Call Me Coach, Word Books. ISBN 978-0876803059
  • John Wooden (1966) Practical Modern Basketball. The Ronald Press Company.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Lenny Wilkens, Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn are the only other basketball players who have since achieved the same honors.[8]

References edit

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Further reading edit

  • Morrow, Barbara Olenyik. Hardwood Glory: A Life of John Wooden (Indiana Historical Society, 2014)
  • Nader, Swen and Ronald Gallimore. You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned: John Wooden's Teaching Principles and Practices (FiT Publishing, 2010) ISBN 978-1935412083
  • Davis, Seth. Wooden: A Coach's Life (St. Martin's Griffin, 2014) ISBN 1250060850

External links edit

john, wooden, john, robert, wooden, october, 1910, june, 2010, american, basketball, coach, player, nicknamed, wizard, westwood, national, collegiate, athletic, association, ncaa, national, championships, year, period, head, coach, ucla, bruins, including, rec. John Robert Wooden October 14 1910 June 4 2010 was an American basketball coach and player Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA national championships in a 12 year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins including a record seven in a row No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men s or women s basketball 1 2 3 4 Within this period his teams won an NCAA men s basketball record 88 consecutive games Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times John WoodenWooden circa 1972Biographical detailsBorn 1910 10 14 October 14 1910Hall Indiana U S DiedJune 4 2010 2010 06 04 aged 99 Los Angeles California U S Playing careerBasketball1929 1932Purdue1932 1937Indianapolis Kautskys1937 1938Whiting Hammond Ciesar All Americans1938 1939Indianapolis KautskysPosition s GuardCoaching career HC unless noted Basketball1933 1935Dayton HS1935 1944South Bend Central HS1946 1948Indiana State1948 1975UCLABaseball1948Indiana StateAdministrative career AD unless noted 1946 1948Indiana StateHead coaching recordOverall664 162 college basketball 7 7 college baseball Accomplishments and honorsChampionshipsAs player Helms and Premo Porretta National championships 1932 As head coach 10 NCAA Champion 1964 1965 1967 1973 1975 12 NCAA Regional Final Four 1962 1964 1965 1967 1975 15 Pac 12 champion 1950 1952 1956 1962 1965 1967 1975 3 PCC tournament champion 1953 1955 AwardsAs player All NBL First Team 1938 NBL scoring leader 1933 3 Consensus All American 1930 1932 Helms Player of the Year 1932 Big Ten Medal of Honor 1932 As coach 5x AP College Coach of the Year 1967 1969 1970 1972 1973 7x Henry Iba Award 1964 1967 1969 1973 5x NABC Coach of the Year 1964 1967 1969 1970 1972 Indiana Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Presidential Medal of Freedom 2003 Basketball Hall of FameInducted in 1960 as a player 1973 as a coach College Basketball Hall of FameInducted in 2006Military careerAllegianceUnited StatesService wbr branchUS NavyYears of service1942 1946RankLieutenantBattles warsWorld War IIAs a 5 foot 10 inch 1 78 m guard 5 with the Purdue Boilermakers Wooden was the first college basketball player to be named an All American three times and the 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo Porretta Power Poll 6 7 He played professionally in the National Basketball League NBL Wooden was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player 1960 and as a coach 1973 the first person ever enshrined in both categories a One of the most revered coaches in the history of sports 2 Wooden was beloved by his former players among them Lew Alcindor later Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton Wooden was renowned for his short simple inspirational messages to his players including his Pyramid of Success many of which were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball Wooden s 29 year coaching career and overwhelming critical acclaim for his leadership have created a legacy not only in sports but also extending to business personal success and organizational leadership 2 Contents 1 Early life and playing career 2 Coaching career 2 1 High school 2 2 Indiana State University 2 3 UCLA 3 Head coaching record 3 1 College basketball 4 List of NCAA championships 5 Legacy 6 Honors 7 Following Wooden 8 Personal life 9 Final years and death 10 Seven Point Creed 11 Publications 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 Further reading 16 External linksEarly life and playing career editJohn Robert Wooden was born on October 14 1910 in Hall Indiana 9 the son of Roxie 1887 1959 and Joshua Wooden 1882 1950 10 and moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918 11 He had three brothers 4 Maurice Daniel and William 10 and two sisters one unnamed who died in infancy 10 and another Harriet Cordelia who died from diphtheria at the age of two 10 When he was a boy Wooden s role model was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five a legendary team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922 After his family moved to the town of Martinsville when he was 14 12 Wooden led his high school team to a state tournament title in 1927 13 He was a three time All State selection 3 nbsp Wooden at PurdueAfter graduating from high school in 1928 he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward Piggy Lambert The 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo Poretta Power Poll 14 John Wooden was named All Big Ten and All Midwestern 1930 32 while at Purdue and he was the first player ever to be named a three time consensus All American 15 In 1932 he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor recognizing one student athlete from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career 16 He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity 17 Wooden is also an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity 18 Wooden was nicknamed The Indiana Rubber Man for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt 15 He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English 4 After college Wooden spent several years playing professional basketball in the NBL with the Indianapolis Kautskys Whiting Ciesar All Americans and Hammond Ciesar All Americans 19 20 21 while he taught and coached in the high school ranks 20 During one 46 game stretch he made 134 consecutive free throws 19 He was named to the All NBL First Team for the 1937 38 season 21 During World War II in 1942 he joined the United States Navy He served until 1946 and left the service as a lieutenant 4 Coaching career editHigh school edit nbsp The plaque in the gymnasium Dayton KY High SchoolWooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Dayton Kentucky His first year at Dayton the 1932 33 season 22 marked the only time he had a losing record 6 11 as a coach 23 After Dayton he returned to Indiana where he taught English coached basketball and served as the athletic director at South Bend Central High School 24 until entering the Armed Forces 25 Wooden spent two years at Dayton and nine years at Central His high school coaching record over 11 years was 218 42 3 Indiana State University edit After World War II Wooden coached at Indiana State Teachers College later renamed Indiana State University in Terre Haute Indiana from 1946 to 1948 4 succeeding his high school coach Glenn M Curtis 26 In addition to his duties as basketball coach Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director 3 4 all while teaching and completing his master s degree in education 26 27 In 1947 Wooden s basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball NAIB National Tournament in Kansas City Wooden refused the invitation citing the NAIB s policy banning black players 26 28 One of Wooden s players Clarence Walker was a black man from East Chicago Indiana 26 That same year Wooden s alma mater Purdue University asked him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then head coach Mel Taube until Taube s contract expired when Wooden would take over the program Citing his loyalty to Taube Wooden declined the offer because this would have effectively made Taube a lame duck coach In 1948 Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African American players that year 29 and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final losing to Louisville This was the only championship game a Wooden coached team ever lost That year Walker became the first African American to play in any post season intercollegiate basketball tournament 29 UCLA edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Wooden news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Wooden with assistant coach Bill Putnam and trainer Ducky Drake c 1958In the 1948 1949 season Wooden was hired by the University of California Los Angeles to be the fourth basketball coach in the school s history He succeeded Fred Cozens Caddy Works and Wilbur Johns Johns became the school s athletic director Wooden signed a three year contract for 6 000 in the first year Prior to being hired at UCLA he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota and it was his and his wife s desire to remain in the Midwest but inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers Thinking that they had lost interest Wooden instead accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden immediately after he accepted the position at UCLA but he declined their offer because he had already given his word to UCLA 4 30 Wooden had immediate success fashioning the mark of the rarest of coaches an instant turnaround for an undistinguished faltering program Part of this success was due to his unique offensive system the same system that countless coaches use today John Wooden stated I believe my system is perfectly suited to counter all the modern defenses I have seen and that includes run and jump 1 3 1 trapping box and one triangle and two and switching man to man 31 Prior to Wooden s arrival at UCLA the basketball program had only had two conference championship seasons in the previous 18 years In his first season he took a Bruins team that had posted a 12 13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference PCC Southern Division champion with a 22 7 record 4 the most wins in a season for UCLA since the school started playing basketball in 1919 32 He surpassed that number the next season with 24 7 and a second division title and overall conference title in 1950 and would add two more in his first four years Up to that time UCLA had collected a total of two division titles since the PCC began divisional play and had not won a conference title of any sort since winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1927 nbsp Wooden in 1960In spite of these achievements Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950 Wooden s inclination was to return to West Lafayette and finally accept the head coaching job there He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three year commitment during negotiations in 1948 Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word even though Purdue offered more money a car and housing 33 By the 1955 56 season Wooden had established a record of sustained success at UCLA That year he guided the team to its first undefeated PCC conference title and a 17 game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Phil Woolpert s University of San Francisco team who had Bill Russell and K C Jones that eventually won the 1956 NCAA tournament However UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament as the Pete Newell coached teams of the California Golden Bears took control of the conference and won the 1959 NCAA tournament Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden s team during that time period was a probation that was imposed on all UCLA sports teams in the aftermath of a scandal that involved illegal payments made to players on the school s football team The probation was also extended to three additional schools the University of Southern California California and Stanford The scandal resulted in the dismantling of the PCC conference 34 By the 1961 1962 season the probation was no longer in place and Wooden returned his team to the top of the conference This time however they would take the next step and in so doing unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball UCLA reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history A narrow loss due largely to a controversial foul call in a 1962 semi final game against Ed Jucker s eventual national champion Cincinnati team convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships 34 Two seasons later in 1964 the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that the team s small sized players and fast paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense which increased the probability of turnovers by the opposing team 34 The result was a dramatic increase in scoring giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went 30 0 on its way to the school s first basketball national championship and first undefeated season as the Bruins beat Vic Bubas taller and slower racially segregated Duke team 98 83 in the final Walt Hazzard fouled out of the game late in the second half on a player control foul but this proved to be insignificant when he cut down the net in celebration and was named tournament most valuable player Gail Goodrich 27 points Keith Erickson Fred Slaughter Jack Hirsch and reserve Kenny Washington 26 points 12 rebounds contributed to the UCLA win With no player taller than 6 feet 5 inches the Bruins speed and zone press forced 29 turnovers and nullified the height advantage of Duke s Hack Tison and Jay Buckley two 6 foot 10 inch players In the 1964 1965 campaign the defending NCAA champions got off to an ominous start when UCLA lost to Illinois by 27 points in its opening game 35 It was all uphill after that as the squad repeated as national champions with Gail Goodrich Kenny Washington and Doug McIntosh The Bruins upended Dave Strack s Michigan team 91 80 in the finals of the NCAA tournament Goodrich shared Player of the Year honors with Princeton s Bill Bradley The 1966 squad was denied a chance at a triple crown when it finished second to Oregon State in the Athletic Association of Western Universities now the Pac 12 UCLA was ineligible to play in the NCAA tournament that year because in those days only conference champions received a bid to the tournament The Bruins 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance with sophomore star Alcindor reclaiming not only the conference title but the national crown with another 30 0 season and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden s retirement immediately following the 1975 NCAA championship The resurgence of the Bruins under Wooden made it obvious that they needed a new home Since 1932 the Bruins had played at the Men s Gym It normally seated 2 400 but had been limited to 1 500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal This forced the Bruins to move games to Pan Pacific Auditorium the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and other venues around Los Angeles when they were expected to attract larger crowds something that happened fairly often after the Bruins first national title At Wooden s urging a much larger on campus facility Pauley Pavilion was built in time for the 1965 66 season The building in Westwood was christened on November 27 1965 in a special game that pitted the UCLA varsity against the UCLA freshmen It was Lew Alcindor s later Kareem Abdul Jabbar freshman season freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity in those days UCLA was the defending national champion and ranked number 1 in the pre season poll The freshmen easily won the game by a score of 75 60 It was a powerful indication of things to come A rule change was instituted for the 1967 1968 season primarily because of Alcindor s towering play near the basket The dunk shot was outlawed and would not be reinstated until the 1976 1977 season which was shortly after Wooden s retirement This was at least the second time that the rules committee had initiated change in response to the domination of a superstar player in 1944 the goaltending rule was instituted to counter George Mikan s dominant defensive play near the basket In January UCLA took its 47 game winning streak to the Astrodome in Houston where the Bruins met Guy Lewis Houston squad who had Elvin Hayes Don Chaney and Ken Spain in the Game of the Century in the nation s first nationally televised regular season college basketball game Houston upset UCLA 71 69 as Hayes scored 39 points In a post game interview Wooden said We have to start over UCLA went undefeated the rest of the year and thrashed Houston 101 69 in the semi final rematch of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship Sports Illustrated ran the front cover headline Lew s Revenge The rout of Houston 36 UCLA limited Hayes to only 10 points he had been averaging 37 7 points per game Wooden credited Norman for devising the diamond and one defense that contained Hayes 37 38 The Game of the Century is also remembered for an incident involving Wooden and Edgar Lacy Lacy was ineffective on defense against Elvin Hayes and Wooden benched him after 11 minutes Lacy never re entered the game Furious with Wooden Lacy quit the team three days later telling the Los Angeles Times I ve never enjoyed playing for that man 39 UCLA s talent during the 1968 NCAA tournament was so overwhelming that they placed four players on the All Tournament team In addition to Alcindor Lucius Allen Mike Warren and Lefty Lynn Shackelford were given accolades Kenny Heitz was also a member of UCLA s 1968 team Lew Alcindor finished his career at UCLA in 1969 with a third consecutive national championship when the Bruins beat George King s Purdue team 92 72 in the title game The three straight titles were matched by three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament as Alcindor established himself as college basketball s superstar during the three peat performance Alcindor and Wooden would continue their communication even after he left UCLA In 2017 Jabbar wrote a book Coach Wooden and Me which details their long standing friendship 40 A sportswriter commented that everybody outside of UCLA would be happy that glorious day in June when Alcindor finally graduated and college basketball could go back to the routine method of determining a national champion This prophecy would prove to be ludicrous over the next six years The 1970 squad proved that nobody was indispensable to the success of the UCLA program not even Alcindor as Sidney Wicks Henry Bibby Curtis Rowe John Vallely and Kenny Booker carried the Bruins to their fourth consecutive NCAA title with an 80 69 win over upstart Jacksonville coached by Joe Williams Wicks and Rowe double teamed 7 foot Artis Gilmore on defense and shut down the high powered Jacksonville offense which had been averaging 100 points per game Gilmore and 5 10 Rex Morgan had been dubbed Batman and Robin by the press In the 1971 NCAA championship game Steve Patterson outscored Howard Porter of Jack Kraft s scandal plagued Villanova squad as UCLA won 68 62 The following year UCLA had its closest game in all of Wooden s 10 championships beating Hugh Durham s Florida State team 81 76 to take the 1972 title After the game Bill Walton said We didn t play well nbsp Wooden with Digger Phelps in 1973 after UCLA beat Notre Dame for their NCAA record 61st straight winThe 1972 1973 season was one of the most memorable campaigns in the history of UCLA basketball Freshmen became eligible to play varsity ball again and the Bruins went 30 0 and stretched their winning streak to a record 75 straight in breezing through the NCAA tournament by blowing out Gene Bartow s Memphis State team 87 66 in the final as Bill Walton hit an incredible 21 of 22 field goal attempts Walton and Wooden were everybody s Player and Coach of the Year again Keith Wilkes Greg Lee and Larry Hollyfield were members of that team and Wilkes would go on to win four NBA championships as well UCLA s two big streaks came to an end during the 1973 1974 season In January the winning streak stopped at 88 games when Digger Phelps s Notre Dame squad upended the Bruins 71 70 in South Bend Two months later Norm Sloan s North Carolina State team defeated UCLA 80 77 in double overtime in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament David Thompson was NC State s All American and Tom Burleson did an excellent job on defense against Bill Walton UCLA had beaten the Wolfpack by 18 points early in the season but things were different when they met in March Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1 1975 a 93 59 victory over Stanford Four weeks later following a 75 74 overtime victory over former player and former assistant coach Denny Crum and Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game Wooden announced that he would retire at age 64 immediately after the championship game 41 His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly when Richard Washington and David Meyers combined for 52 points as UCLA responded with a 92 85 win over Joe B Hall and Kentucky to claim Wooden s first career coaching victory over the Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship Marques Johnson and Andre McCarter were also key contributors on Wooden s final championship team The success of Wooden s last team was particularly impressive because it had no marquee stars such as Alcindor Walton Hazzard and Goodrich the team was a group of rugged opportunists Andy Hill who was on three Bruin teams under Wooden that won NCAA championships from 1970 to 1972 decades later co wrote with Wooden the 2001 book Be Quick But Don t Hurry Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime 42 43 The bestseller details how Hill applied his experience as a player under Wooden to achieve success in his career as a television executive 42 44 45 His goal was to demonstrate the relevance of Wooden s coaching style to the business world The book also delves into his personal relationship with Wooden as his coach and mentor 42 In 2004 a 93 year old Wooden stated that he would not mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties 46 During his tenure with the Bruins Wooden became known as the Wizard of Westwood though he personally disdained the nickname 33 He gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973 3 His UCLA teams also established an NCAA men s basketball record winning streak of 88 games 47 48 and four perfect 30 0 seasons 3 They also won 38 straight games in NCAA tournaments 3 and 98 straight home wins at Pauley Pavilion where Wooden compiled a 150 3 record over 10 seasons He never made more than 35 000 a year salary not including camps and speaking engagements including 1975 the year he won his 10th national championship and never asked for a raise wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift 49 According to his own writings Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him Head coaching record editCollege basketball edit Statistics overview Season Team Overall Conference Standing PostseasonIndiana State Sycamores Indiana Intercollegiate Conference 1946 1948 1946 47 Indiana State 17 8 5 2 1st NAIA invitation declined1947 48 Indiana State 27 7 7 0 1st NAIA Runner upIndiana State 44 15 746 12 2 857 UCLA Bruins 32 Pacific Coast Conference 1948 1959 1948 49 UCLA 22 7 10 2 1st South 1949 50 UCLA 24 7 10 2 1st NCAA Regional Fourth Place1950 51 UCLA 19 10 9 4 T 1st South 1951 52 UCLA 19 12 8 4 1st South NCAA Regional Fourth Place1952 53 UCLA 16 8 6 6 3rd South 1953 54 UCLA 18 7 7 5 2nd South 1954 55 UCLA 21 5 11 1 1st South 1955 56 UCLA 22 6 16 0 1st NCAA Regional Third Place1956 57 UCLA 22 4 13 3 T 2nd1957 58 UCLA 16 10 10 6 3rd1958 59 UCLA 16 9 10 6 T 3rdUCLA Bruins 32 Pacific 8 Conference 1959 1975 1959 60 UCLA 14 12 7 5 2nd1960 61 UCLA 18 8 7 5 2nd1961 62 UCLA 18 11 10 2 1st NCAA University Division Fourth Place1962 63 UCLA 20 9 8 5 T 1st NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place1963 64 UCLA 30 0 15 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1964 65 UCLA 28 2 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1965 66 UCLA 18 8 10 4 2nd1966 67 UCLA 30 0 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1967 68 UCLA 29 1 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1968 69 UCLA 29 1 13 1 1st NCAA University Division Champion1969 70 UCLA 28 2 12 2 1st NCAA University Division Champion1970 71 UCLA 29 1 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1971 72 UCLA 30 0 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1972 73 UCLA 30 0 14 0 1st NCAA University Division Champion1973 74 UCLA 26 4 12 2 1st NCAA Division I Third Place1974 75 UCLA 28 3 12 2 1st NCAA Division I ChampionUCLA 620 147 3 808 300 67 817 Total 664 162 804 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 championList of NCAA championships editYear Record Final Opponent Final score Notes1964 30 0 Duke 98 83 John Wooden won his first national title in his sixteenth season at UCLA Senior Walt Hazzard starred for UCLA as the Bruins made a 16 0 run late in the first half to beat Duke and its All American Jeff Mullins 50 Hazzard was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated driving through the Duke players 51 1965 28 2 Michigan 91 80 The Bruins were led by senior All American guard Gail Goodrich and used an effective zone press Goodrich scored 42 points in the final against Michigan and Cazzie Russell 50 1967 30 0 Dayton 79 64 The Bruins started a junior and four sophomores which included Lew Alcindor later Kareem Abdul Jabbar UCLA defeated unranked Dayton and Don May in the title game 50 1968 29 1 North Carolina 78 55 UCLA s 47 game winning streak ended on January 20 when the Bruins were defeated by Houston and All American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71 69 in front of the largest college basketball crowd in NCAA history 52 693 The showdown was the nation s first nationally televised regular season college basketball game The game was known as the Game of the Century Lew Alcindor was limited from having been hospitalized the week before with a scratched cornea The Bruins at full strength avenged the loss in a rematch with Houston in the NCAA semi finals as they beat the Cougars 101 69 UCLA then defeated North Carolina in the title game to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice 50 1969 29 1 Purdue 92 72 UCLA defeated Wooden s alma mater Purdue and its All American Rick Mount in the championship game UCLA became the only school to this day to win three consecutive NCAA basketball championships and Wooden became the first coach to win five NCAA championships Lew Alcindor is the first player to win three national championships as well as garner three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament He finished his career at UCLA with an 88 2 record 50 1970 28 2 Jacksonville 80 69 Despite the graduation of Alcindor UCLA won its fourth championship in a row The Bruins came back from a nine point first half deficit as Sidney Wicks Curtis Rowe Henry Bibby and the rest of the Bruins outlasted Artis Gilmore Rex Morgan Chip Dublin and Pembrook Burrows of Jacksonville in the title game 50 1971 29 1 Villanova 68 62 Senior Steve Patterson scored 29 points in the championship game against Villanova and Howard Porter as UCLA won its fifth in a row In its regional final UCLA overcame an 11 point deficit to defeat Long Beach State 57 55 50 Patterson s portrait was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline Unexpected Hero 52 1972 30 0 Florida State 81 76 Sophomore Bill Walton led the Bruins to their sixth championship in a row The Bruins had a rough time with Florida State and its great ball handler Otto Petty in the closest game of all their title wins but their margin of victory in the NCAA tournament was a record 30 3 points They became the first team to post three 30 0 seasons 50 John Wooden was selected by Sports Illustrated as its Sportsman of the Year for his contributions to college basketball 1973 30 0 Memphis State 87 66 The Bruins became the only team in history with back to back undefeated seasons as they won their seventh straight championship In the title game junior Bill Walton hit 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scored 44 points in one of the greatest offensive performances in the history of the NCAA tournament 50 Memphis State coach Gene Bartow would replace Wooden at UCLA three years later 1975 28 3 Kentucky 92 85 Coach Wooden ended his 27 year UCLA coaching career by winning his tenth national championship in 12 years He announced his retirement at age 64 during the post game press conference of the semi final win against Louisville and the UCLA players promptly responded by giving him a going away present with a win over Kentucky and its captain Jimmy Dan Conner For the Bruins Richard Washington and Dave Meyers scored 28 and 24 points respectively to offset Kevin Grevey s game high 34 50 Legacy editWhen Wooden arrived at UCLA for the 1948 1949 season he inherited a little known program that played in a cramped gym He left it as a national powerhouse with 10 national championships the most successful rebuilding project in college basketball history John Wooden ended his UCLA coaching career with a 620 147 overall record and a winning percentage of 808 These figures do not include his two year record at Indiana State prior to taking over the duties at UCLA In 2009 Wooden was named The Sporting News Greatest Coach of All Time 53 Honors editWooden was recognized numerous times for his achievements He was named NCAA College Basketball s Coach of the Year in 1964 1967 1969 1970 1971 1972 and 1973 In 1967 he was the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year In 1972 he shared Sports Illustrated magazine s Sportsman of the Year award with Billie Jean King In 1960 he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player 54 and as a coach in 1973 55 becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach 4 8 After his coaching career ended UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men s Basketball Coach Emeritus 56 On November 17 2006 Wooden was recognised for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame He was one of five people along with Oscar Robertson Bill Russell Dean Smith and Dr James Naismith who were selected to represent the inaugural class 57 In 2009 he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in St Louis Coach Wooden was the ninth honouree in the Missouri Valley Conference s Lifetime Achievement category 27 Wooden said the honour he was most proud of was Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U S by his denomination the Christian Church 50 Since 1977 the John R Wooden Award has been the most coveted of the four college basketball player of the year awards This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football s Heisman Trophy for college basketball with the winner announced during a ceremony held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club 58 The MVP award for the McDonald s All American Game in high school basketball is named the John R Wooden Most Valuable Player Award The Wooden Legacy is held in his honour In 1998 the Coach Wooden Keys to Life Award was created to be given to a former player or coach who exemplifies character leadership and faith This Award is presented at the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast which is held each year at the Final Four and is hosted by Athletes in Action On February 3 1984 Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame 59 nbsp John Wooden Recreation Centre on the campus of UCLAIn 2000 Wooden was honored with the Lombardi Award of Excellence from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation The award was created to honor Coach Lombardi s legacy and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the Coach Wooden has schools and athletic facilities named after him The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name 50 and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R Wooden High School 60 In 2003 UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden 61 Named the Nell amp John Wooden Court Wooden asked for the change from the original proposal of the John amp Nell Wooden Court insisting that his wife s name should come first 62 In 2008 Indiana State also bestowed this honour on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the Nellie and John Wooden Court 63 The student recreation centre at UCLA is also named in his honor 64 Also in 2008 Wooden was honoured with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 65 On November 8 2008 Indiana State officially named the floor at the Hulman Centre The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife Nellie The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946 47 and 1947 48 teams 66 The Sycamores christened the newly named floor by defeating the Albion College MI Britons in an exhibition game On July 23 2003 John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nation s highest civilian honor It was presented by George W Bush after a three year campaign by Andre McCarter who was on Wooden s 1975 National Championship team The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University Long Beach established the John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009 with Wooden being the inaugural recipient 67 In 1986 John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University the first year the award was given In 1976 Wooden received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 68 69 On May 17 2004 Wooden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports amp Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club 70 On Wooden s 96th birthday in 2006 a post office in Reseda California near where Wooden s daughter lives was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office 71 This act was signed by President George W Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman 3 nbsp In July 2010 Wooden s alma mater Purdue University named a street on campus after him 72 On October 14 2010 the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a John Wooden Day Celebration to honor Wooden s 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university 73 A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Centre is a recreation of Wooden s den office in honor of his memory on campus 74 Golf Digest lists Wooden as one of four people to score both a double eagle and a hole in one in the same round of golf 75 The feat was accomplished in 1947 at the South Bend Country Club in South Bend Indiana The flagship leadership development program of Wooden s fraternity Beta Theta Pi is named The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle after Coach Wooden and his wife Nellie 76 Coach Wooden s maxims and creed are central to the teaching of leadership development at the institute On October 26 2012 a bronze statue of Wooden by sculptor Blair Buswell was dedicated at the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion 77 78 Wooden s Legacy a 2012 public artwork statue by Jeffrey Rouse is exhibited in Indianapolis Indiana The United States Postal Service will honor Wooden as the subject of a first class forever postage stamp to be issued in 2024 79 Following Wooden editThree of Wooden s former players would take over the program and leave within a few years Gene Bartow Gary Cunningham Larry Brown and Larry Farmer were the four coaches who entered and left UCLA in the nine years following Wooden One former UCLA head coach former ESPN analyst and former St John s head coach Steve Lavin fired from UCLA in 2003 has said The mythology and pathology of UCLA basketball isn t going to change due to Wooden s legacy and believes that every basketball coach will eventually be fired or forced out from UCLA 80 Bartow Wooden s immediate successor at UCLA went 28 5 in 1976 but was blown out twice that season by Bob Knight s eventual undefeated national champion Indiana Hoosiers the second time in the Final Four and lost 76 75 in the 1977 West Region semifinals to Idaho State Bartow won 85 2 of his games compared to Wooden s 80 8 in two years yet supposedly received death threats from unsatisfied UCLA fans citation needed Wooden himself often joked about being a victim of his own success calling his successors on the phone and playfully identifying himself ominously as we the alumni 81 In his autobiography Wooden recounts walking off the court in 1975 after his last game as a coach having just won his tenth title only to have a UCLA fan walk up and say Great win coach this makes up for letting us down last year UCLA had lost in the semifinals in double overtime in 1974 to eventual national champion North Carolina State 82 Bartow s successor Wooden protege Gary Cunningham posted an even better two year record after Bartow 862 50 8 and No 2 rankings each year but could not proceed past two wins in the NCAAs and left Larry Brown came next racking up more losses 17 in two years than UCLA had experienced the previous four With a near magical end of season run typical of his career he managed to coach UCLA into the title game in 1980 where the Bruins lost to Louisville coached by Denny Crum Coincidentally Crum had played for Wooden at UCLA before working for him there as an assistant coach Brown then left UCLA Former UCLA players Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard then took turns directing the UCLA program from 1981 to 1988 Hazzard s 1985 team won the National Invitation Tournament 83 UCLA went 20 years after Wooden s retirement before winning another national championship finally hanging a banner again in 1995 under coach Jim Harrick when Ed O Bannon starred for the Bruins as they beat Arkansas 89 78 in the title game and denied Nolan Richardson back to back titles In 2006 Ben Howland led the team back to the national championship game for the first time since the 1995 title game but they were defeated 73 57 by the Florida Gators and their star player Joakim Noah 32 Harrick was the only coach of John Wooden s nine successors who has guided the Bruins to an NCAA championship Personal life editWooden met his future wife Nellie Nell Riley when he was a freshman in high school 84 They were both 21 years of age when they married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932 and afterward attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate 85 The couple had a son James Hugh Wooden and a daughter Nancy Anne Muehlhausen 3 Nellie died on March 21 1985 3 from cancer at age 73 86 Wooden remained devoted to Nellie s memory until his own death 25 years after her passing He kept to a monthly ritual health permitting on the 21st of every month when he would visit her crypt in the mausoleum then write a love letter to her After completing each letter he placed it in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together 87 Wooden stopped writing the letters because of failing eyesight in the last months of his life 88 In mourning Nellie s death Wooden was comforted by his faith 89 He was a devout Christian considering his beliefs more important to him than basketball I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live There is only one kind of life that truly wins and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior 90 Wooden s faith strongly influenced his life He read the Bible daily and attended the First Christian Church 89 He said that he hoped his faith was apparent to others If I were ever prosecuted for my religion I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me 91 In a 2009 interview he described himself politically as a liberal who had voted for some Republican presidential candidates 92 Final years and death edit nbsp Wooden at a ceremony on his 96th birthdayWooden was in good physical health until the later years of his life On April 3 2006 he spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital receiving treatment for diverticulitis 93 He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon with his daughter quoted as saying her father was doing well upon his subsequent release 94 Wooden was hospitalized on March 1 2008 after a fall in his home He broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given around the clock supervision 95 In February 2009 he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia 96 On May 26 2010 Wooden was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from dehydration 97 He remained hospitalized there and died of natural causes at age 99 on June 4 2010 98 99 100 He was survived by his son daughter three grandsons four granddaughters and 13 great grandchildren Following a private ceremony Wooden was interred with his wife Nellie in an outdoor community mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles A public memorial service was held two weeks later at UCLA s Pauley Pavilion Seven Point Creed editJohn Wooden s Seven Point Creed 101 was given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school Be true to yourself Make each day your masterpiece Help others Drink deeply from good books especially the Bible Make friendship a fine art Build a shelter against a rainy day Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day Wooden also lectured and authored a book about the Pyramid of Success 102 The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for succeeding at basketball and at life In his later years he was hired by corporations to deliver inspirational lectures and even appeared in commercials for Hartford Insurance and the NCAA Following his death in June 2010 shortly after the basketball season all UCLA sports teams wore either a patch or helmet sticker with the initials JRW inside a black pyramid for the remainder of the season in honor of his philosophy Furthermore the men s basketball team continues to wear the patch as of 2019 though not in black It is generally known that he received lecture fees that exceeded the salaries he was paid as a coach Wooden proudly claimed that these late in life windfalls allowed him to set up education accounts for all of his grandchildren At the top of the Pyramid of Success was Competitive Greatness which Wooden defined as Perform at your best when your best is required Your best is required each day 103 Wooden was also the author of several other books about basketball and life Among Wooden s maxims Failing to prepare is preparing to fail from Benjamin Franklin Flexibility is the key to stability Be quick but don t hurry 104 105 Seek opportunities to show you care The smallest gestures often make the biggest differencePublications editJohn Wooden and Steve Jamison 2010 The Wisdom of Wooden My Century On and Off the Court McGraw Hill Education ISBN 978 0071751162 John Wooden and Don Yaeger 2009 A Game Plan for Life The Power of Mentoring Bloomsbury USA ISBN 978 1 59691 701 9 John Wooden and Steve Jamison 2009 Coach Wooden s Leadership Game Plan for Success 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence McGraw Hill Professional ISBN 978 0 07 162614 9 John Wooden and Steve Jamison 2007 The Essential Wooden A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership McGraw Hill Education ISBN 978 0 07 148435 0 John Wooden with Swen Nater 2006 John Wooden s UCLA Offense Human Kinetics ISBN 978 0 7360 6180 3 John Wooden and Steve Jamison 2005 Wooden on Leadership How to Create a Winning Organization McGraw Hill Education ISBN 978 0 07 145339 4 John Wooden Jay Carty 2005 Coach Wooden s Pyramid of Success Playbook Revell ISBN 978 0800726263 John Wooden with Steve Jamison 2004 My Personal Best McGraw Hill Professional ISBN 978 0 07 143792 9 John Wooden Jay Carty 2003 Coach Wooden One on One Regal ISBN 978 0830732913 Andrew Hill with John Wooden 2001 Be Quick But Don t Hurry Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 0743213882 John Wooden with Steve Jamison 1997 Wooden A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court Contemporary Books ISBN 978 0 8092 3041 9 John Wooden with Jack Tobin 1972 They Call Me Coach Word Books ISBN 978 0876803059 1985 Hardcover Revised Edition Word Books ISBN 978 0849904387 2003 Revised Edition McGraw Hill Professional ISBN 978 0 07 142491 2 John Wooden 1966 Practical Modern Basketball The Ronald Press Company See also edit nbsp Biography portalList of college men s basketball coaches with 600 wins List of NCAA Division I Men s Final Four appearances by coachNotes edit Lenny Wilkens Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn are the only other basketball players who have since achieved the same honors 8 References edit Jenkins Pat Summitt with Sally 2013 Sum it up 1 098 victories a couple of irrelevant losses and a life in perspective Paperback ed Crown Publishing Group p 383 ISBN 9780385347051 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link a b c John Wooden former UCLA coach dies Associated Press June 5 2010 Retrieved November 23 2010 a b c d e f g h i j k John Wooden A Coaching Legend UCLABruins com official athletic site of the UCLA Bruins Archived from the original on April 17 2009 Retrieved January 24 2010 a b c d e f g h i Mike Puma 2007 Sportscentury Biography Wizard of Westwood ESPN Retrieved January 25 2010 John Wooden NCAA Division I Men s Basketball NCAA Division I Champions Rauzulu s Street 2004 Retrieved June 17 2014 ESPN ed 2009 ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia The Complete History of the Men s Game New York NY ESPN Books p 542 ISBN 978 0 345 51392 2 a b Lenny Wilkens Coach Bio NBA Archived from the original on April 4 2015 Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1910 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 a b c d John Wooden Steve Jamison April 2004 My Personal Best Life Lessons from an All American Journey McGraw Hill ISBN 0 07 143792 4 Retrieved January 29 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1918 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1924 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1927 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 Division I Records PDF NCAA 2009 p 82 Retrieved January 24 2010 a b The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1930 1932 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 Big Ten Conference Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Big Ten Medal of Honor March 11 2014 Purdue Beta Theta Pi Chapter History Archived from the original on November 21 2009 Retrieved January 30 2010 Wilfred M Krenek Fall 1998 President s Message It s a New Fall PDF Alpha Phi Omega Archived from the original PDF on September 28 2007 Retrieved January 30 2010 a b Mick McCormick February 9 2008 Historical Perspective George Chestnut and pioneer pro basketball in Indiana Tribune Star Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved January 29 2010 a b Murry R Nelson 2009 The National Basketball League A History 1935 1949 McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 4006 1 Retrieved February 7 2010 a b John Wooden NBL Stats Basketball Reference Retrieved May 19 2022 Mark Story Wooden started coaching in Kentucky and lost High School Sports Kentucky com Archived from the original on June 10 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1932 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline August 1934 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1934 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 a b c d Paula Meyer March 30 2006 March Madness Flashback John Wooden Indiana State University Retrieved January 29 2010 a b Jim Benson October 23 2008 Longtime ISU coach Coughlan to join Wooden in Valley Hall of Fame Bloomington Pantagraph Retrieved January 28 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1946 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 a b The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1947 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline 1948 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 Nater Swen 2006 John Wooden s UCLA Offense Canada Human Kinetics pp xvi ISBN 978 0 7360 6180 3 a b c d UCLA History PDF UCLA 2007 pp 118 126 Archived from the original PDF on October 29 2008 Retrieved January 29 2010 a b Rick Reilly October 19 2009 Too Short For A Column ESPN The Magazine Retrieved January 24 2010 a b c Alex Wolff June 4 2010 How 64 Bruins made John Wooden SI com Retrieved July 21 2010 1964 65 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results College Basketball at Sports Reference com Ucla Lew Alcindor 1968 Ncaa Semifinals Sports Illustrated Cover by Sports Illustrated Esper Dwain March 25 1968 Bruins Hope Norman Stays The Independent Pasadena California p 15 Retrieved July 22 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Gasaway John June 7 2010 John Wooden s Century Basketball Prospectus Archived from the original on July 23 2015 Retrieved July 23 2015 Madera Tribune 29 January 1968 California Digital Newspaper Collection cdnc ucr edu Kareem Abdul Jabbar on John Wooden and their history Sports Illustrated May 16 2017 Wooden hangs em up Eugene Register Guard Associated Press March 30 1975 Retrieved July 23 2010 permanent dead link a b c Jelenko Jane Marshall Susan 2007 Changing Lanes Road Maps to Midlife Renewal Random Press pp 37 9 ISBN 9780979599002 Retrieved May 31 2015 Hill Andy August 23 2009 The greatest coach ever leads by example Sporting News Archived from the original on March 15 2016 Shelburne Ramona March 31 2007 Catching up with UCLA stars from the epic years Los Angeles Daily News Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Pace Frank March 30 2003 Commentary Dinner reunites sparks memories The Florida Times Union Archived from the original on June 21 2015 Galleries CNN January 19 2004 Mark Schlabach April 1 2006 A Tradition Lacking Swagger Storied UCLA Fails to Worry Frisky LSU Washington Post Retrieved February 7 2010 Brendan Murphy July 11 2007 Trinity squash nears decade with nation s longest winning streak ESPN Retrieved February 7 2010 Rick Reilly 2009 One coach still knows more than all the others combined And he s been retired for three decades Retrieved January 24 2010 a b c d e f g h i j k l UCLA s Championship Tradition PDF UCLA 2006 pp 68 72 76 77 Archived from the original PDF on July 25 2012 Retrieved January 29 2010 sports illustrated Walt hazzard drives through duke Google Search www google com steve patterson unexpected hero Google Search www google com Sporting News honors Wooden ESPN Associated Press July 30 2009 Retrieved June 7 2010 John R Wooden player Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Archived from the original on September 9 2009 Retrieved January 24 2010 John R Wooden coach Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Archived from the original on August 31 2009 Retrieved January 24 2010 UCLA Directory Wooden John R UCLA Retrieved January 30 2010 Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame to induct founding class National Association of Basketball Coaches November 17 2006 Archived from the original on November 17 2007 Retrieved January 25 2010 John R Wooden Award John R Wooden Award 2009 Retrieved January 30 2010 Hall of Fame GoSycamores com official site of Indiana State Athletics Retrieved January 28 2010 Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles January 11 2005 Regular Meeting Minutes January 11 2005 Los Angeles Unified School District Retrieved January 30 2010 Karen Mack December 9 2003 Courtly tribute to the Woodens UCLA Today Archived from the original on January 8 2009 Retrieved January 25 2010 Gregg Patton December 21 2003 Wooden s legacy finally on Pauley Pavilion paint Press Enterprise Archived from the original on March 13 2004 Retrieved January 25 2010 Indiana St naming basketball court after Wooden San Francisco Chronicle Associated Press November 3 2008 Retrieved January 25 2010 dead link John Wooden Centre Student Recreation Facility UCLABruins com official athletic site of the UCLA Bruins Archived from the original on March 8 2012 Retrieved January 30 2010 John Wooden Honoured at Coliseum Pacific 10 Conference May 20 2008 Retrieved January 30 2010 dead link Basketball M October 23 2008 Wooden Court Ceremony Set For November 8 At Hulman Centre GoSycamores com Official Web Site of Indiana State Athletics Gosycamores com Retrieved August 4 2012 Ukleja Centre Presents Award to Legendary Coach John Wooden Inside CSULB California State University Long Beach June 15 2009 Archived from the original on August 5 2011 Retrieved June 15 2009 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement John Wooden Biography and Interview www achievement org American Academy of Achievement February 27 1996 The People s Choice Has the Gift of Gag Los Angeles Times April 11 2004 Retrieved July 16 2012 UCLA Government amp Community Relations October 2006 Coach John Wooden Post Office Dedication Ceremony Archived from the original on July 6 2010 Retrieved January 30 2010 Eric Weddle July 9 2010 Purdue renames street to honor John Wooden Lafayette Indiana Journal and Courier Retrieved July 2 2015 dead link UCLA Students to Honur Memory of Late Coach John Wooden on His 100th Birthday on Oct 14 Daily Bruin UCLA Athletics October 12 2010 Archived from the original on April 5 2012 Retrieved October 12 2010 Celebration of John Wooden s life and legacy in commemoration of his 100th birthday Daily Bruin ASUCLA Media October 15 2010 Archived from the original on June 14 2011 Retrieved October 18 2010 Dwyre Bill When John Wooden worked magic on a golf course Los Angeles Times January 26 2010 The Wooden Institute Archived from the original on November 24 2010 Yoon Peter October 26 2012 UCLA unveils John Wooden statue ESPN com Archived from the original on October 28 2012 UCLA John Wooden statue to be unveiled today at new Pauley Pavilion Archived from the original on October 28 2012 Retrieved August 15 2017 https about usps com newsroom national releases 2023 1130 usps reveals additional stamps for 2024 htm Accessed 29 December 2023 Dick Weiss January 12 2003 Trouble Bruin Steve Lavin feels the heat again but this time it may be too much New York Daily News Retrieved January 30 2010 permanent dead link Steve Lavin Chris Snow October 5 2009 Coach to Coach What does John Wooden pass to another coach ESPN the Magazine Retrieved January 30 2010 Wooden John They Call Me Coach McGraw Hill 2004 ISBN 0 07 142491 1 Harris Beth November 18 2011 Former UCLA NBA star Walt Hazzard dies The San Diego Union Tribune Retrieved December 12 2023 In 1985 he led them to the school s first NIT championship The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline July 1926 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 The Journey A Brief Professional and Personal History Timeline August 1932 CoachWooden com The Official Site of Coach John Wooden Retrieved January 24 2010 Roy Exum February 12 2009 The Ultimate Valentine The Chattanoogan Archived from the original on June 8 2010 Retrieved January 25 2010 Reilly Rick March 14 2000 A Paragon Rising above the Madness CNN Sports Illustrated Retrieved January 24 2010 Reilly Rick June 8 2010 Wooden set the bar high ESPN com Retrieved June 19 2010 a b Mitch Horowitz November 2004 From the Socks Up The Extraordinary Coaching Life of John Wooden Science of Mind Archived from the original on February 26 2010 Retrieved February 7 2010 John Wooden 2003 They Call Me Coach McGraw Hill ISBN 978 0 07 142491 2 John Wooden Steve Jamison 1997 Wooden A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court McGraw Hill ISBN 0 8092 3041 0 Davis Seth August 24 2009 Checking in on John Wooden Sports Illustrated Retrieved December 12 2023 John Wooden goes home from hospital USA Today Associated Press April 6 2006 Retrieved January 31 2010 Wooden released from hospital Associated Press April 16 2007 Archived from the original on November 15 2007 Retrieved February 7 2010 Wooden breaks left wrist collarbone in fall at home ESPN Associated Press March 1 2008 Retrieved January 30 2010 Brian Dohn March 20 2009 UCLA s Holiday uses opportunity to run the show Los Angeles Daily News Archived from the original on August 15 2010 Retrieved January 30 2010 Beth Harris June 4 2010 UCLA John Wooden suffering from dehydration Forbes com Archived from the original on June 5 2010 Retrieved June 4 2010 Wooden dies at age 99 ESPN Los Angeles June 4 2010 Retrieved June 4 2010 Legendary basketball coach Wooden dies CNN June 4 2010 Retrieved June 4 2010 Remembering John Wooden USA Today June 5 2010 Retrieved June 5 2010 Eric Neel October 16 2005 Forever Coach Retrieved January 24 2010 The John R Wooden Course www woodencourse com Bergin Mark Atop the pyramid WORLD magazine July 3 2010 78 PHOTOS John Wooden turns 99 Los Angeles Times October 14 2009 Mike Penner On his 99th birthday 99 things about John Wooden Los Angeles Times October 14 2009Further reading editMorrow Barbara Olenyik Hardwood Glory A Life of John Wooden Indiana Historical Society 2014 Nader Swen and Ronald Gallimore You Haven t Taught Until They Have Learned John Wooden s Teaching Principles and Practices FiT Publishing 2010 ISBN 978 1935412083 Davis Seth Wooden A Coach s Life St Martin s Griffin 2014 ISBN 1250060850External links editJohn Wooden at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Media from Commons nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Data from Wikidata Official website nbsp John Wooden Biography and Interview with American Academy of Achievement Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Wooden amp oldid 1205306144, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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