99 Years of Greatness

It’s rare to find a man who stands up for what he believes in and does what is right because it’s the right thing to do. Those who are like this are often obscured from sight by the people in this world who would rather put themselves first before anyone else, and seek to do only what is right by them. 

John Wooden is one of the former people. For those who don’t know Wooden, he is likely the greatest coach to helm any sport. 

Basketball is a love of Wooden’s. He grew up in Indiana, where basketball has long been coveted and idolized. John Wooden got the bug when he was young and succumbed to the fever of the sport. 

Born in 1910, Wooden honed his basketball skills in a town called Centerton, Indiana, before moving at the age of 14 to Martinsville. It was there that his talent started to truly showcase itself as he helped his high school team to three state championship finals and earning the coveted Indiana title in 1927. In those three years, the pundits took note of Wooden, who was named an All-State selection each season. 

He went on to earn three All-American honors at Purdue University—a first at the time for any player—and went on to play professionally for a number of years for a variety of teams. But it was the English degree Wooden earned in the classroom and the subsequent Master ’s Degree from the Indiana State Teacher’s College (now Indiana State University) that would prove to be his true calling. 

Teaching is about more than pointing at a chalk board or even being in a classroom. Wooden’s natural basketball talent combined with his teaching ability and turned into something wonderful. He became a guiding light for players, a father figure for them to look up to and respect. He led by example, preaching for his students to not only work to be their best on the court, but off it as well. 

Wooden spend a number of years as a high school coach—in fact, he earned his only losing record, 6-11, in his first year at the helm of a team at Dayton High School. From there, he went to Indiana State University, where his team won the Indiana Collegiate Conference title in 1947. his team turned down an invitation to the NAIB National Tournament because of the policy banning African American players from playing in it. The next year, when the NAIB changed its policy, Wooden lead his team to the conference title and then to the NAIB final, where his team lost to Louisville. This was the only loss in a championship game that any of Wooden’s teams ever lost. 

From Indiana, Wooden accepted a job as the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles—more commonly referred to as UCLA. There, Wooden solidified himself as the greatest coach in basketball’s history by winning 664 games in 27 seasons, as well as 10 NCAA championships during his final 12 seasons, including seven straight during the 1967 through 1973 campaigns. His team had a record undefeated run of 88 games, including four perfect 30-0 seasons. 

The accolades poured in for Wooden. In 1967, he was named the USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he was Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. 

It was during these years of greatness that Wooden showed himself to be a man of integrity, loyalty and honesty. Not many people know that Wooden’s first choice for a coaching position was not UCLA, but rather the University of Minnesota. In 1948, he and his wife, Nell, who died in 1985 from cancer, wanted to stay in the Midwest. The University of Minnesota was interested in Wooden’s abilities and pursued him, as did UCLA. But a bad storm knocked on the phone lines and the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ scheduled call didn’t come on the day it was expected, so Wooden assumed the school has lost interest in him. He turned, instead, and accepted a job from the Bruins. It wasn’t long after that the phone rang and Wooden was immediately offered a job with Minnesota. He declined, however, because he had given his word to the Bruins. 

A man’s worth is weighed by how good his word is. And Wooden’s was solid gold. 

Unlike many coaches and sports figures of today, Wooden remained loyal to the Bruins and UCLA. He never tried to swindle more money out of his school because he was good at the job they paid him to do. According to Rick Reilly of ESPN, Wooden never made more than $35,000 a year and never once asked for a raise, including the year he won his 10th national title. Wooden even turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers—a job that would have given him pay in the amount of about 10 times what he was making with the Bruins. 

Wooden’s greatness will never be questioned. He racked up a 665-162 record from his high school coaching days through his final national championship victory. He won 10 national titles. The next closest coach is Pat Summitt, who has eight titles with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers women’s basketball team. Adolph Rupp earned four national titles as a men’s NCAA basketball coach, while Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski have three titles each. 

Wooden collected four undefeated seasons in his coaching career at UCLA. No other coach has more than one. 

Wooden’s coaching philosophy was derived from the Seven Point Creed that he based his life on. This creed, which was reportedly given to him by his father Joshua when he graduated from grammar school, is simple: 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, and; Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day. 

John Wooden turned 99 years old Wednesday. For nearly a century, he has pushed himself to be the best he could be without sacrificing his morals, his integrity or his ingenuity. 

Happy birthday, Coach Wooden. You are an inspiration to us all.