John Wooden Biography
The Wizard of Westwood is the Coach of the Century
Biography of John Wooden, legendary college basketball coach and winner of a record ten NCAA National Championships
The mere mention of his name conjures visions of triumph on the basketball court. Generations of players revere him not only as a coach, but as a life mentor. He was the first person inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. His seven consecutive NCAA national basketball championships is a record that will stand for some time to come. It is nearly impossible to find anyone who has a negative word to say about John Robert Wooden. This is a brief summary of his life story.
Early Life
Wooden was born on October 14, 1910 in Hall, Indiana. When he was eight, his family moved to a small farm near Centerton, Indiana, which had a population of 86. Reportedly, the farm had neither running water nor electricity but never lacked work to be done. Money was often scarce; Wooden has often credited much of his success to the work ethic farm life instilled deeply within him. Nevertheless, he somehow found time to shoot a ball into a tomato basket nailed up on a barn wall.
High School Career
In 1926, he began playing high school basketball and became an all-State guard who helped bring his team to three consecutive state championship games, of which they won only the second. The third they lost, 13-12, on a last second desperation shot that disappeared into the rafters before coming straight down through the hoop.
College Career
Wooden enrolled at Purdue University in August of 1928, where he captained the 1932 national championship team under Hall of Fame Coach “Piggy” Lambert. He was also selected as College Player of the Year.
A New Husband and Coach
John Married high school sweetheart Nellie Riley in August of 1932 (they were married for 53 years, until her passing in 1985). In September 1932 he took his first coaching job at Dayton High School in Kentucky. That first season was rough, and the team went 6-11. It was the last time a Wooden-coached team would have a losing season.
The War Intervenes
Wooden coached high school basketball and taught English classes until World War II. He joined the U.S. Navy as a Second Lieutenant. A bout of appendicitis kept him from sailing to the Pacific War as scheduled; he later learned that his replacement on the ship had been subsequently killed in a kamikaze attack.
A College Coach
After the war ended, Wooden took the coaching job at Indiana State University, compiling a record of 47-14 over two seasons. He famously rejected an invitation to the NAIA tournament because African-Americans were not allowed to play. Wooden recalls one of his proudest moments as overhearing one of his players reply to a reporter who had asked about racial tensions, saying, “You don’t know our coach. He doesn’t see color. He just sees ballplayers.” The NAIA relented the following year.
Wooden’s long relationship with UCLA began in 1948, when the school was at the bottom of the basketball barrel. He astonished critics by taking the team to a 22-7 record that year. Notice had been served.
The Bruins’ winning ways continued until, in 1964, Wooden achieved a long-sought dream: a perfect season and a national championship. The championship was the first of ten Wooden’s teams would win, seven of them in consecutive years (1967-73). Wooden teams also notched four perfect 30-0 seasons.
In 1975, Wooden’s final year as a coach, the UCLA team responded by going 27-3 in the regular season and presenting “Coach” with his tenth NCAA Championship.
Mentor and Role Model
In all his years as a coach, Wooden prohibited his players from using profanity and consistently avoided using it himself. He has authored over a dozen best-selling books about basketball and his life philosophy, including several children’s books. Former players speak of him in reverential tones. Sports writers and analysts who evaluate great coaches have determined that, “there is Wooden, and then there is everyone else.” In 1999, ESPN elected John Wooden as “Coach of the 20th Century”.
Now in his 98th year, this beloved basketball and teaching legend lives in a condominium in California's San Fernando Valley and still attends UCLA home games whenever possible.
Sources:
coachjohnwooden.com
espn.go.com
hoophall.com
