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Basketball: Wooden celebrates 99th birthday!
By Jeff Faraudo
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 1:27 am in Basketball.
You don’t have to be a UCLA fan to appreciate John Wooden. Even Cal fans — well, most of them — must be in awe of the coaching legend who turns 99 today.
Amazing. Consider that the start of World War I and Babe Ruth’s baseball career both were four years away when Wooden was born. The Boy Scouts of America were founded in 1910 and Father’s Day was first celebrated that year. Halley’s Comet made its rare appearance and women earned the right to vote.
I’ve had the great pleasure to interview Wooden several times, and the man is remarkable.
Here’s the UCLA news release on Wooden’s birthday.
Happy Birthday, coach.
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October 14th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Granted, it’s Wikipedia, but this is some good stuff…
UCLA had actually been Wooden’s 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 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.
His alma mater Purdue University wanted Wooden to return to campus in 1947 and serve as then Head Coach Mel Taube’s assistant until Taube’s contract expired. Wooden declined, citing his loyalty to Taube, as this would effectively make Taube a lame-duck coach. The following season, 1948, he accepted the UCLA position.
“He never made more than $35,000 a year, including 1975, the year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise,” wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN.
October 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
How much money did Ben Braun make for his zero NCAA championships?
October 14th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
That’s a capital “C” when referring to to Coach Wooden…