John Wooden
John Wooden, born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana, was a celebrated basketball player and coach known for his profound influence on the sport and his innovative coaching philosophy. Growing up in a modest farming family, Wooden developed a strong work ethic and discipline, which he later instilled in his players. He achieved remarkable success at Purdue University, leading his team to a national championship and earning All-American honors. After a varied coaching career at different schools, he became the head coach at UCLA in 1948, where he transformed the Bruins into a college basketball powerhouse, winning ten NCAA championships in a 12-year span.
Wooden's coaching philosophy emphasized character development, encapsulated in his "pyramid of success," which consists of 25 essential traits. He was known for his simple yet powerful rules for players, such as punctuality and respect. After retiring, Wooden continued to inspire others through his teachings, emphasizing that true success is derived from personal satisfaction and effort. His legacy extends beyond his impressive coaching record, as he is remembered for his contributions to the growth of young athletes and the development of sportsmanship. Throughout his life, he received numerous accolades, including being named the greatest coach of the twentieth century by ESPN.
John Wooden
Athletic Coach
- Born: October 14, 1910
- Birthplace: Hall, Indiana
- Died: June 4, 2010
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Sport: Basketball
Early Life
John Robert Wooden was born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana. He lived his early days on farms in the local rural area. The Wooden home did not have running water or electricity. John was the third of six children in a close, hardworking family. John’s father—a strong and steady influence—was a stern but caring man who instilled discipline and honesty in his children. John and his brothers were fond of playing a form of basketball with a rag ball and a tomato basket nailed to the hay loft in the barn.
The Road to Excellence
During the depression of the 1930’s, John’s father lost the family farm, and the family moved to Martinsville, Indiana, where John attended high school. At Martinsville, John met Nellie, his wife to be. His high school basketball coach was Glenn Curtis, a man John later succeeded as Indiana State University’s basketball coach. As a sophomore, John once quit the team over Curtis’s treatment of certain favorite players. John later said that incident taught him to listen to players who disagreed with him as a coach. John went on to win all-state honors in basketball three straight years while excelling in baseball as well. He led the basketball team to a state championship in 1927.
After high school, John enrolled at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. There, he captained the 1932 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship team. John, a scrappy 5-foot 10-inch guard, was named all-American three times. He was awarded the 1932 Big Ten Conference Medal for outstanding merit and proficiency in scholarship and athletics, and was named college basketball’s player of the year.
After graduating from Purdue in 1932, John began teaching at Dayton High School in Kentucky, where he was the coach for all sports. At Dayton, he experienced his only losing season as a coach, an important learning experience. From Dayton, John returned to his native Indiana to coach at Central High School in South Bend, where he coached basketball, baseball, and tennis and taught English for nine years. In eleven years coaching high-school basketball, John compiled an overall record of 218-42.
During World War II, John’s coaching career was interrupted for three years with service in the Navy. He served as a full lieutenant from 1943 to 1946. Later, John served as athletic director at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. For two years, John coached basketball and baseball. Then he headed west for the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1948.
The Emerging Champion
In his first two years at UCLA, John built and trained a fine team which won the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) championship in 1950. The UCLA Bruins marched to the PCC title again in 1952 and 1956, but John’s success within his own conference was only part of the story. In 1960, John was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.
John’s first great UCLA team emerged in 1963-1964. The heart of the team was a pair of scrappy, sharpshooting guards, Walt Hazzard and Gail Goodrich. The team was unranked in the preseason polls, but the Bruins swept to a 30-0 season and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship.
Goodrich was back the following season, but the Bruins lost the first game. The team then rallied to sweep its second national crown in a row. In the NCAA final, Goodrich scored 42 of the Bruins’ 91 points, and UCLA knocked out the University of Michigan, 91-80.
The UCLA team had an off-year in 1965-1966, but as coach, John had a banner season in recruiting. He landed the greatest collection of new basketball talent ever assembled at one school. His prize player was 7-foot 2-inch Lew Alcindor (who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of New York, the most sought-after high-school player in the nation. John also landed sharpshooting guard Lucius Allen. For forwards, John recruited a pair of 6-foot 8-inch players, Lynn Shackleford and Mike Lynn.
From 1966 to 1968, John’s Bruins had a forty-seven-game winning streak. The streak was finally snapped by the University of Houston, sparked by Elvin Hayes, in a game at the Houston Astrodome. Alcindor was injured and did not play well in the game, which was the team’s only loss; the Bruins finished the season with a 29-1 record. UCLA gained revenge against Houston in the NCAA Tournament by defeating the Cougars 101-69. The Bruins’ victory over the University of North Carolina gave UCLA another NCAA Championship.
In 1969, the Alcindor-led Bruins became the first team to win three straight NCAA titles. They beat John’s alma mater, Purdue, in the championship game.
Continuing the Story
John seemed long overdue to come off his winning streak. With the graduation of the awesome Alcindor, many thought UCLA’s reign was finished, yet the coach had a few more tricks for his rivals. The next season, Alcindor’s understudy, Steve Patterson, had the help of sophomore forwards Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe, and the Bruins captured a fourth straight NCAA crown in 1970. The trio of Patterson, Rowe, and Wicks came back in 1971 to win a fifth straight title. The next year, John was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, the first person ever inducted in more than one category.
In 1972, John built his team around another outstanding center, Bill Walton. UCLA went undefeated in 1971-1972 and 1972-1973, and captured two more NCAA Championships. UCLA’s winning streak was finally stopped by the University of Notre Dame in January, 1974, at a record 88. That year, the Bruins were at last defeated in NCAA Tournament play, after 38 consecutive tournament victories. The Bruins dropped a double-overtime thriller to North Carolina State in the national semifinals.
In 1975, UCLA captured its tenth national crown under John. He announced his retirement to the team before the final game against Kentucky, and the Bruins’ players gave their coach a going-away present. They defeated the Wildcats 92-85.
John’s coaching genius was without question. Whatever kind of team he had, he managed to produce a winner. John was named NCAA college basketball coach of the year in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, and 1973.
In his career at UCLA, John compiled a record of 620-147, a winning percentage of more than 80 percent. He coached more than a dozen players who went on to play professional basketball.
John and his wife reared a son and a daughter. John was named California “Father of the Year” in 1964 and California “Grandfather of the Year” in 1974. After 53 years of marriage, his beloved wife died in 1985.
In 1994, John was presented the Landry Medal as an inspiration to American youth. He was honored with the Reagan Distinguished American Award in 1995, as well as the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Sportsman Award. In 1999, John was named the greatest coach of the twentieth century by the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN). The following year, he received the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Twentieth Century Award. Even in his later nineties, John continued to attend many of the UCLA basketball games played at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Summary
After he retired, John Wooden spoke to many people about how he achieved so much success. “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming,” John said. He believed that attaining success is like the process of building a pyramid, only each block is a character trait. His “pyramid of success” consists of 25 building blocks that include discipline, faith, patience, and self-control. John had three basic rules for his players: be on time for practice, do not use profanity, and never criticize another player. More than thirty years after his retirement from coaching, John remained an inspiration to his former athletes and to those who admired him as a successful leader.
Bibliography
Biro, Brian D. Beyond Success: The Fifteen Secrets to Effective Leadership and Life Based on Legendary Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. New York: Berkley, 2001.
Bisheff, Steve. John Wooden: An American Treasure. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland House, 2004.
Chapin, Dwight, and Jeff Prugh. The Wizard of Westwood: Coach John Wooden and His UCLA Bruins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973.
Heisler, Mark. They Shoot Coaches, Don’t They? UCLA and the NCAA Since John Wooden. New York: Macmillan, 1996.
Johnson, Neville L. The John Wooden Pyramid of Success: The Authorized Biography, Oral History, Philosophy, and Ultimate Guide to Life, Leadership, Friendship, and Love of the Greatest Coach in the History of Sports. Los Angeles: Cool Titles, 2003.
Nater, Swen, and Ronald Gallimore. You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned: John Wooden’s Teaching Principles and Practices. Morgantown, W.Va.: Fitness Information Technology, 2006.
Williams, Pat, and David Wimbish. How to Be Like Coach Wooden: Life Lessons from Basketball’s Greatest Leader. Deerfield Beach, Fla.: Health Communications, 2006.
Wooden, John R. Practical Modern Basketball. New York: Ronald Press, 1966.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Wooden on Leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Wooden, John R., and Steve Jamison. My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1997.
Wooden, John R., and Swen Nater. John Wooden’s UCLA Offense. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2006.
Wooden, John R., and John Reger. Quotable Wooden: Words of Wisdom, Preparation, and Success by and About John Wooden, College Basketball’s Greatest Coach. Nashville, Tenn.: TowleHouse, 2002.
Wooden, John R., and Jack Tobin. They Call Me Coach: The Fascinating First-Person Story of a Legendary Basketball Coach. Rev. ed. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2004.