Mattie T’s Tribute to John Wooden (1910-2010)
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 5, 2010
One of sports’ greatest coaches is no longer with us, as 99-year old UCLA legend John Wooden died on Friday in Los Angeles due to natural causes.
Wooden grew up in Indiana & led his high school basketball team to three consecutive appearences in the state championship finals.
He then spent his collegiate career at the University of Purdue & led the Boilermakers to a National Championship win in 1932 while becoming the first player ever to become a 3-time All-American.
Wooden actually considered the head coaching job at the University of Minnesota after his two years with Indiana Stat before deciding to sign a 3-year contract with UCLA in 1948.
The Bruins showed immediate results, as they went from a losing season to finishing 22-7 in Wooden’s first full season there as head coach.
He almost left UCLA to sign a deal with Purdue in 1950, but wound up staying to start college basketball’s most dynamic run.
From 1963 to 1975, Wooden was able to lead the Bruins to 10 National Championship wins in 12 years, which included four perfect seasons (1963, 1966, 1971 & 1972).
In 1973, he received the ultimate accomplishment by being the first player & coach to be inducted into Basketball’s Hall of Fame.
The Wizard of Westwood finished with 620 wins in his 27 seasons there, which included a 98-game winning streak at Pauley Pavilion and a collegiate record 88-game win streak.
In 2006, Wooden was inducted to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
His 10 National Championship wins are the most in Division I history, with Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt ranked 2nd with 8 National Championships.
The current active men’s head coach in National Championship wins is Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who won his 4th this past April.
