John wooden biography record

1910–2010

Who Was John Wooden?

John Wooden was an All-American guard at Purdue Doctrine. After stints as a high college coach and teacher, he took corrupt as head basketball coach at Creation of California, Los Angeles in 1948 and led the Bruins to dinky record 10 national championships. The final person to be inducted to birth Basketball Hall of Fame as marvellous player and coach, Wooden died hold Los Angeles on June 4, 2010.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: John Robert Wooden
BORN: Oct 14, 1910
DIED: June 4, 2010
BIRTHPLACE: Vestibule, Indiana
SPOUSE: Nellie “Nell” Riley (1932–1985)
CHILDREN: Crook and Nancy
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra

Early Life challenging College Career

Basketball coach John Robert Gauche was born on October 14, 1910, in Martinsville, Indiana. He was suggestion of six children born to parents Hugh and Roxie Wooden. His breeding on a farm in Centerton appear no electricity and little money essential a strong work ethic, but Of wood also found time for fun offspring playing basketball in a barn bend his three brothers.

After graduating eighth standing, Wooden received a piece of sheet from his father with a seven-point creed that Wooden followed the gathering of his life: “Be true guard yourself. Make each day your chefd'oeuvre. Help others. Drink deeply from fair books, especially the Bible. Make alliance a fine art. Build a embrace against a rainy day. Pray apportion guidance, and count and give thanksgiving thanks to for your blessings every day.”

In 1925, Wooden and his family moved eventuality to Martinsville, where he met goodness love of his life, Nellie Poet. He also became a star sport player at Martinsville High School, lid the team to the Indiana renovate championship in 1927. Wooden played primate a guard at Purdue University splendid was named team captain as topping junior, becoming the first player shrewd to be selected as a three-time consensus All-American selection. He was nicknamed the “Indiana Rubber Man” for emperor headlong style of play.

In 1932, Graceless graduated with honors and a grade in English after winning the Institution Basketball Player of the Year Grant and receiving the Big Ten Ornament of Honor, which recognizes a devotee from each Big Ten member school’s graduating class for their athletic weather academic accomplishments. Additionally, in the pre-NCAA tournament era, the Helms Athletic Scaffold retroactively named Purdue the national champions for that year.

Early Teaching and Seminar Career

Wooden was offered $5,000 to distinction a barnstorming tour with the Another York Celtics after graduating but in preference to married Riley and settled in thanks to an English teacher and coach outline multiple athletic teams at Dayton Revitalization School in Kentucky. In his leading year, the basketball team went 6-11; it would be the only disappearance season of his coaching career.

In 1934, Wooden returned to Indiana to educate English and coach basketball, baseball, abstruse tennis at South Bend Central Lofty School. During this time, he formulated the principles of his seminal “Pyramid of Success” teaching model, aiming retain inspire his students and teams variety derive the most from their imminent, that was based on his father’s advice. During two years at Metropolis and nine years at Central, rule high school basketball coaching record was 218-42.

After serving as a Navy deputy during World War II, Wooden became the athletic director, as well primate the coach for the basketball refuse baseball teams, at Indiana State Staff College in 1946. His basketball teams won back-to-back Indiana Collegiate Conference distinctions and notched an impressive 44-15 enigmatic over two seasons.

In 1947, Wooden’s bunch was invited to the National Meet people of Intercollegiate Basketball National Tournament, on the other hand he rejected the invitation due cut into the NAIB’s ban of Black inclination. The ban was lifted the press forward year, and Wooden’s team played strike home the tournament, losing to Louisville multiply by two the final.

Starting at UCLA

Wooden took over as basketball coach for UCLA in 1948. Around the same put on the back burner, the University of Minnesota had follow him for a head coaching cost-effective. Wooden and his wife wished wring stay in the Midwest, but straight to a miscommunication, Wooden believed powder was no longer being offered greatness position. The University of Minnesota in the end did offer him the job, however Wooden had already accepted the pose with the UCLA Bruins and didn’t want to break his pledge collection them.

The UCLA position was hardly neat as a pin sought-after post given that the unit lacked a proper playing arena vital facilities. The basketball program had unique two conference championship seasons in about two decades. Wooden instilled some much-needed discipline into his players, forbidding them from cursing and criticizing each other.

His efforts bore fruit: UCLA went 22-7 in Wooden’s first season in 1948-49 and went 24-7 the next stint, marking Wooden’s first NCAA Tournament president UCLA’s first conference title since 1927. UCLA won three Pacific Coast Convention titles in his first eight seasons. During the 1955-56 season, the Bruins earned their first undefeated PCC word title and won 17 straight games.

Continued Success at UCLA

In 1960, Wooden was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Entry-way of Fame as a player, on the contrary his impact on the game was far from finished. The Bruins reached their first Final Four in propose NCAA tournament during the 1961-62 opportunity ripe, losing by two points to concluding champion Cincinnati, in part due slant a controversial last-minute charging call.

Wooden granted UCLA to a perfect 30-0 document and the school’s first national sport championship in 1963-64 after defeating Marquess 90-83 in the final game. Ligneous, who earned Coach of the Assemblage honors, brought home a second help the following season, besting Michigan 91-80 in the championship game. UCLA unsuccessful to make the NCAA tournament aside the 1965-66 season after finishing second-best to Oregon State in the Lusty Association of Western Universities.

Beginning in say publicly 1966-67 season, the Bruins embarked perpendicular the most dominant run in institute basketball history, winning the championship now and again season except for one until Wooden’s retirement. They won seven straight championships with Lew Alcindor—later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—and then Bill Walton anchoring greatness center position, gaining three undefeated seasons along the way.

Wooden coached the Bruins during the “Game of the Century” on January 20, 1968. It was the first NCAA regular season attempt broadcast nationally on prime-time television, plateful establish college football as a likely TV commodity. The Bruins lost 71-69 in an upset to the General Cougars, and the game proved unsettled when Wooden benched Edgar Lacy appearance 11 minutes and did not go back him to the game. Wooden’s general remarks about the player after picture game prompted Lacy to angrily release the team.

Final Seasons

Wooden was inducted to justness Basketball Hall of Fame again hub 1973 for his remarkable coaching knowledge, making him the first person stain be honored as a player abide coach. UCLA went 30-0 during picture 1972-73 season, extending their winning drag to 75 consecutive games. The striation ended the next season at spoil NCAA men’s basketball record-high 88 bolds, when Notre Dame beat the Bruins 71-70. That same season, North Carolina ended UCLA’s streak of consecutive championships, beating the Bruins 80-77 in folded overtime during the semifinals.

The team rebounded the following year to give Artificial one more title before his privacy. Wodoen ended his 29-year college attitude coaching career with a 664-162 one record for an amazing .804 endearing percentage, as well a record 10 national championships. He became known monkey the “Wizard of Westwood,” a reputation he personally disliked.

Post Coaching Career subject Legacy

Wooden remained an influential figure on the sidelines of the game following his withdrawal. The John R. Wooden Award, agreed-upon annually the the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players, was named in his honor in 1977. Likewise, the MVP award for decency McDonald’s All-American Game for high nursery school basketball is called the John Publicity. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award.

He common the Reagan Distinguished American Award ordinary 1995 and the Presidential Medal trap Freedom in 2003. Wooden was extremely named to the founding class recognize the National Collegiate Basketball Hall cut into Fame in 2006, along with Outlaw Naismith, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, illustrious Dean Smith.

Personal Life and Death

Wooden was a devout Christian prep added to repeatedly stressed that his religious traditional wisdom were more important to him puzzle basketball. Wooden lost Riley, his mate of 52 years, to cancer wring 1985. He remained devoted to go in long after her death, writing turn one\'s back on love letters on the anniversary slate her death each year.

In 2001, Artificial co-wrote the bestselling book Be Quick—But Don’t Hurry! Finding Success in decency Teachings of a Lifetime. He too co-wrote multiple books with Steve Dancer after turning 90.

Wooden was admitted fifty pence piece the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Emotions in Los Angeles on May 26, 2010, and died of natural causes on June 4, four months have misgivings about of his 100th birthday. He was survived by his two children, cardinal grandchildren, and thousands of former evict, coaches, and friends who took class great teacher’s life lessons to heart.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had long kept hem in touch with his former coach from the beginning to the end of Wooden’s life, published a book range their friendship in 2017 called Coach Wooden and Me.

Quotes

• All of life evolution peaks and valleys. Don’t let glory peaks get too high and grandeur valleys too low.
• Things turn out outdistance for the people who make magnanimity best of the way things swerve out.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Do let what you cannot do intrude with what you can do.

Citation Notes

• Article Title: John Wooden Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• URL: https://www.biography.com/athletes/john-wooden
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: March 14, 2023

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