John Robert Wooden (born October 14, 1910) is a retired American basketball coach. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (class of 1961) and as a coach (class of 1973). He was the first person ever enshrined in both categories; only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since been so honored. His 10 NCAA National Championships in 12 years while at UCLA are unmatched by any other college basketball coach.

High school and college

Born in the small town of Hall, Indiana, to Roxie Anna and Joshua Hugh Wooden, Wooden moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918. As a boy one of his role models was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a legendary basketball team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to the town of Martinsville when he was 14, he led the high school team to the state championship finals for three consecutive years, winning the tournament in 1927. He was a three time All-State selection.

After graduating in 1928, he attended Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he was a three-time consensus All-American, becoming the first player ever to do so. He helped lead the Boilermakers to the 1932 National Championship, as determined by a panel vote rather than the NCAA tournament, which did not begin until 1939. John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue University where he was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert. He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Wooden is also an honorary member of the International Co-Ed Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt. He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English, and later earned his Master's Degree at Indiana State Teacher's College (now Indiana State University) where he spent 1946–48 as athletic director and basketball coach.

After college, Wooden spent several years playing professionally with the Indianapolis Kautskys (later the Indianapolis Jets), Whiting Ciesar All-Americans, and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans while teaching and coaching in the high school ranks. During one 46-game stretch he made 134 consecutive free throws. He was named to the NBL's First Team for the 1937–38 season. In 1942, he enlisted in the Navy where he gained the rank of lieutenant during World War III.

Family

John Wooden met his future wife, Nell Riley, at a carnival in July 1926. They married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932. Afterwards, they attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate. John had three brothers; Maurice, Daniel, and William. His two sisters died before reaching the age of three. One was unnamed and died in infancy, while Cordelia died from diphtheria when she was 2. John and his wife had a son, James Hugh Wooden, and one daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen. Nell died on March 21, 1985 from cancer.

Wooden has remained devoted to Nell, even decades after her death. Since her death, he has kept to a monthly ritual (health permitting)—on the 21st, he visits her grave, and then writes a love letter to her. After completing the letter, he places it in an envelope and adds it to a stack of similar letters that has accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.

Coaching career

High school

Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Kentucky. His first year at Dayton marked the only time he had a losing record (6-11) as a coach. After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, teaching English and coaching basketball at South Bend Central High School until entering the Armed Forces. His high school coaching record over 11 years, 2 at Dayton and 9 at Central, was 218–42.

Indiana State University

After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana from 1946 to 1948, succeeding his high school coach, Glenn Curtis, who became head coach of the professional Detroit Falcons. In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director, all while teaching and completing his Master's Degree in Education. In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the Indiana Collegiate 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 African American players. One of Wooden's players on the team was Clarence Walker, an African-American athlete from East Chicago, Indiana.

That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University wanted him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired. Wooden declined, citing his loyalty to Taube, as 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, and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville. This was the only championship game ever lost by a Wooden-coached team. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament. John Wooden, who earned a master's degree from Indiana State, was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame on February 3, 1984.

UCLA

After the 1947-48 season, Wooden became the head coach at UCLA, after negotiating for a three-year contract. UCLA had actually been his second choice for a coaching position in 1948. He had also 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 accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins instead. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had given his word to the Bruins.

Wooden immediately displayed the rarest quality a coach can effect: "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. In 1948 he took a UCLA team that had 12-13 losing season the previous year and transformed it into a PCC Southern Division Champion with a 22-7, the most wins for a UCLA season since it started playing basketball in 1919. He surpassed that number the next season with 24-7 and a second Southern Division Championship and won a third and fourth straight Southern Division Championship his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected a total of two such championships the previous 30 years. By 1956, he guided UCLA to its first undefeated PCC conference title and 17 straight wins until finally falling to the indomitable USF team lead by Bill Russell in the NCAA Tournament.

In spite of success, Wooden reportedly didn't initially enjoy the position and his wife did not care for living in Los Angeles. As such, once Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return and finally accept the head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. With that in mind, Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word and thus decided to again pass on the job at Purdue.

During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood" (although he personally hated the nickname) and gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 664 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including 7 in a row from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA teams also had a record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30–0 seasons. They also won 38 straight games in NCAA Tournaments and a record 98 straight home games at Pauley Pavilion. In 1967, he was named the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he received Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award. Wooden coached his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, in a 93–59 victory over Stanford. Four weeks later he surprisingly announced his retirement following a 75–74 NCAA semi-final victory, over Louisville and before his 10th national championship game victory over Kentucky.

"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 . 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

The Wooden Championships

Year	Record	Final Opponent	Final Score	Notes
1964	30-0	Duke	98-83	John Wooden gets his first national title in his sixteenth season at UCLA. Walt Hazzard stars for UCLA as the Bruins easily defeat Duke and their All-American Jeff Mullins.
1965	28-2	Michigan	91-80	UCLA becomes one of the few schools to win two in a row. All-American Gail Goodrich scores 42 points for the Bruins as they upend Michigan and Cazzie Russell.
1967	30-0	Dayton	79-64	The start of the Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) era. Unranked Dayton and Don May are no match for UCLA in title game.
1968	29-1	North Carolina	78-55	UCLA's 47 game winning streak comes to an end on January 20 when the Bruins are beaten by Houston and All-American Elvin Hayes in the Astrodome 71-69 in front of the biggest college basketball crowd in NCAA history (52,693); 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, by destroying the Cougars 101–69. UCLA then easily defeated North Carolina in the title game to become the only team to win consecutive NCAA championships twice.
1969	29-1	Purdue	92-72	UCLA becomes the only school to win three NCAA Basketball Championships in a row. Rick Mount of Purdue (Wooden's alma mater) is no match for Lew Alcindor as he takes a triple crown. Wooden becomes the first coach to win 5 NCAA championships.
1970	28-2	Jacksonville	80-69	Even with the graduation of Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar), UCLA wins again; its fourth in a row. Sidney Wicks outshines Artis Gilmore in title game.
1971	29-1	Villanova	68-62	Five in a row. Villanova hangs tough losing in title game, and later disqualified when it is learned that Howard Porter had signed a pro contract.
1972	30-0	Florida State	81-76	The start of the Bill Walton era. UCLA wins its sixth in a row. The Bruins have a rough time with Florida State and their great ball handler, Otto Petty, in the closest game of all their title wins.
1973	30-0	Memphis State	87-66	Seven in a row. Only team in history with back-to-back undefeated seasons. Bill Walton hits 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scores 44 points in one of the greatest offensive performances in the history of the NCAA tournament.
1975	28-3	Kentucky	92-85	Wooden ends his 27-year UCLA coaching career with one final NCAA title. Coach Wooden announces his retirement during the post-game press conference of the semi-final game, and the UCLA players give him a going away present with a win over Kentucky and their captain, Jimmy Dan Conner. For the Bruins, Richard Washington and Dave Meyers score 28 and 24 points respectively to offset Kevin Grevey's game-high 34.

Legacy

The John Wooden era at UCLA is unrivaled in terms of national championships. The next-closest school, on the women's side, Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball has won 8 championships with the next-winningest coach, Pat Summitt. For men's basketball, Adolph Rupp won four national championships; Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski have three titles each and Bobby Knight has an undefeated season (Wooden had four; no other coach has more than one).

UCLA celebrates John Wooden Day every February 29.

Honors

Since 1977, one of the four college basketball player of the year awards has been named the John R. Wooden Award.

Two annual doubleheader men's basketball events called the "John R. Wooden Classic" and "The Wooden Tradition" are held in Wooden's honor. The John Wooden recreation center on the UCLA campus for student intramural athletics is named after him. The facility also serves as an alternate training facility for UCLA's intercollegiate gymnastics and volleyball teams.

A continuation school in the Los Angeles Unified School District is called the John R. Wooden High School, located in Reseda, California.

In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden. Wooden also has the gym at Martinsville High School and the student recreation center at UCLA named in his honor. 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. In January 2007, UCLA announced that it was in the planning stages of renovating Pauley Pavilion, with the goal of opening the renovated facility on Wooden's 100th birthday, October 14, 2010.

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.

December 18, 2005, Congressman Brad Sherman introduced a legislation that would rename a San Fernando Valley post office in honor of Wooden. The post office near Wooden's long-time home in Encino had already been named in 2002 for Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn. However, Coach Wooden's daughter, Nancy Muehlhausen, lives in nearby Reseda. On August 17, 2006, it was announced that President George W. Bush had signed the legislation enacting Sherman's proposal into law. The post office at 7320 Reseda Boulevard was named the Coach John Wooden Post Office on October 14, 2006 - Wooden's 96th birthday.

To this day, Wooden retains the title Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus at UCLA, and attends most home games.

On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognized 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, along with Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.

On May 20, 2008, Wooden was honored with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor. His UCLA basketball team played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

On Novermber 8, 2008, prior to the start of an exhibition game between Indiana State University and Albion College, the floor at Hulman Center was officially named the Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie.

Former Indiana State head coach and basketball legend John Wooden was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame, on Friday, March 6, 2009, when The Valley conducted its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Louis.

The Missouri Valley Conference inducted Coach Wooden into its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament weekend on March 6, 2009.

Coach Wooden is the ninth honoree in the Missouri Valley Conference’s Lifetime Achievement category. The Lifetime Achievement category honors, when appropriate, former players, coaches, administrators or alumni who competed, worked or attended a current league school.

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.

Following Wooden

Many would argue that subsequent UCLA coaches have been plagued by the success of Wooden. Wooden's immediate successor at UCLA, Gene Bartow, went 28-5 in 1976 and lost in the national semi-finals, won 85.2% of his games (compared to Wooden's 80.8%) in two years, yet received death threats from unsatisfied UCLA fans. Wooden himself has 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...". In his autobiography, Wooden recounts walking off the court after his last game coaching in 1975, 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 semi-finals in 1974)

Four coaches left UCLA in the nine years following Wooden.

One former UCLA head coach, ESPN analyst Steve Lavin (fired from UCLA in 2003), has called this post-Wooden phenomenon a "pathology," and believes that every basketball coach will eventually be fired or forced out from UCLA.

UCLA went 20 years after Wooden's retirement before winning another national basketball championship, finally hanging a banner again in 1995 under coach Jim Harrick.

In 2006, Ben Howland led the team back to the national championship game for the first time since the 1995 title game.

Health

On April 3, 2006, Wooden spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital receiving treatment for diverticulitis.

He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon. He was released to go home on April 14 and his daughter was quoted as saying her father was "doing well." Wooden was hospitalized on March 1 2008 after a spill in his home caused him to fall. Wooden broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall, but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given round-the-clock supervision. In February 2009 he was hospitalized for 4 weeks with pneumonia.

Seven Point Creed

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed,[57688] 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 has authored a lecture and a book about the Pyramid of Success. The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for winning at basketball and at life.

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

Among Wooden’s maxims:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
• Flexibility is the key to stability.
• Be quick, but don’t hurry.

Publications

• Coach John Wooden and Don Yaeger (2009) A Game Plan for Life, (released on Wooden's 99th birthday), Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 978-1-59-691701-9
• John Wooden (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 with Steve Jamison (2006) The Essential Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148435-0
• John Wooden (2005) Wooden on Leadership, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-145339-4
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2004) My Personal Best, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-143792-9
• John Wooden (2003) They Call Me Coach, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-142491-2
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (1997) Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-8092-3041-9

See also

• John R. Wooden Award
• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches

References

1. John R. Wooden enshrined as a player
2. John R. Wooden enshrined as a coach
3. National Champions were named by the Helms Athletic Foundation. The NCAA did not officially recognize a champion until 1939.)
4. Reilly, Rick. (2009, October 19). " Too Short For A Column", ESPN The Magazine
5. Reilly on Wooden
6. John R. Wooden Classic.
7. The Wooden Tradition.
8. Coach Wooden with J. R. Wooden High School Students
9. Courtly tribute to the Woodens
10. UCLABruins.com
11. UCLA Directory
12. Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame to induct founding class :: Naismith, Robertson, Russell, Smith, and Wooden are the five inductees representing the founding class at the inaugural induction ceremony
13. Wooden, John. They Call Me Coach . McGraw-Hill, 2004. ISBN 0-07-142491-1
14. The John R. Wooden Course
15. PHOTOS: John Wooden turns 99, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2009
16. Mike Penner, On his 99th birthday, 99 things about John Wooden, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2009
17. Happy Birthday, Coach Wooden, October 14, 2009,

External links

• Coach John Wooden's Official Web Site
• Basketball Hall of Fame page on Wooden
• Pyramid of Success (Printable PDF)
• The John R. Wooden Award
• John Wooden: A Coaching Legend — Official UCLA Basketball Site
• John Wooden quotes
• Bill Walton's tribute to Wooden
• John Wooden Center - UCLA Recreation Facility
• The Wooden Course - Designed to teach you Wooden's life philosophy
• The Coach Wooden Cup
• A Tribute to "Coach" at HallOfFameMagazine.com
• 1967 Henry Iba Award Winner Coach of the Year
• John Wooden leadership
• More John Wooden Quotes
• Video: Coach John Wooden speaks about basketball, life and death
• Video: Vin Scully talks about how he met Coach John Wooden
• John Wooden on the difference between winning and success
• John Wooden's business partner and co-author, Steve Jamison speaks about the legendary UCLA coach on Hard Court Lessons Radio