610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States
Wooden studied at Purdue University.
Gallery of John Wooden
200 N 7th St, Terre Haute, IN 47809, United States
Wooden earned his Master of Science degree from Indiana State University in 1947.
Career
Gallery of John Wooden
1949
John Wooden
Gallery of John Wooden
1964
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden in the huddle with the team during the game versus Kansas State, Kansas City.
Gallery of John Wooden
1964
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden in the huddle with the team during a timeout of a game versus Duke; assistant coach is handing out lemons, Kansas City.
Gallery of John Wooden
1964
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
NCAA Final Four, UCLA coach John Wooden victorious with team, trophy, and net after winning a championship game versus Duke, Kansas City.
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1965
Los Angeles, California, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden on sidelines bench during Varsity versus Freshmen game, Los Angeles.
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1968
3939 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90037, United States
UCLA head coach John Wooden during the NCAA Final Four basketball championship semifinal game against Houston in Los Angeles at the Sports Arena.
Gallery of John Wooden
1969
Lew Alcindor (best known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of UCLA, who played his last game of college basketball, holds up a hand signifying that they are the number one team in the country. John Wooden, UCLA coach, is pictured alongside the All American, who scored 37 points to defeat Purdue, 92-72, capturing the third straight championship game.
Gallery of John Wooden
1971
UCLA coach John Wooden with Bill Walton.
Gallery of John Wooden
1972
Los Angeles, California, United States
Closeup of UCLA coach John Wooden on sidelines during a game versus USC, Los Angeles.
Gallery of John Wooden
1972
Los Angeles, California, United States
Closeup of UCLA coach John Wooden with the team during a game versus Louisville, Los Angeles.
Gallery of John Wooden
1972
Los Angeles, California, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden talks to Bill Walton during a game versus Florida State, Los Angeles.
Gallery of John Wooden
1972
301 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Portrait of UCLA coach John Wooden at Pauley Pavilion, stadium, Los Angeles.
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1972
Pullman, Washington, United States
Closeup of UCLA coach John Wooden on sidelines team during a game versus Washington State, Pullman.
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1973
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden during a game versus North Carolina State, St. Louis.
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1973
South Bend, Indiana, United States
Closeup of UCLA coach John Wooden on the court with TVS media reporter Dick Enberg before a game versus Notre Dame, South Bend.
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1975
San Diego, California, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden victorious with a net after winning a game versus Kentucky, San Diego.
Gallery of John Wooden
1975
Portrait of former UCLA coach John Wooden in action at his basketball camp.
Gallery of John Wooden
1975
San Diego, California, United States
UCLA coach John Wooden during a game versus Louisville, San Diego.
Gallery of John Wooden
1975
Head coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins talks to his team during the National Championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats.
Gallery of John Wooden
1975
3500 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, United States
UCLA head coach John Wooden during a game versus Kentucky at San Diego Sports Arena (now Pechanga Arena).
Gallery of John Wooden
1975
John Wooden, who is referred to in basketball circles as the "Wonder of Westwood," shouts directions to his players from the bench during the NCAA championship game on March 31, 1975.
Gallery of John Wooden
Los Angeles, California, United States
Assistant coach Denny Crum and head coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins circa 1969 in Los Angeles, California.
Gallery of John Wooden
Head coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins looks on from the bench.
Gallery of John Wooden
John Wooden
Achievements
Membership
Awards
Golden Plate Award
1976
John R. Wooden receiving the Golden Plate Award.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
2003
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Then-president of the United States George W. Bush shakes hands with former basketball coach John R. Wooden after presenting Wooden with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during an East Room event at the White House on July 23, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
Lew Alcindor (best known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of UCLA, who played his last game of college basketball, holds up a hand signifying that they are the number one team in the country. John Wooden, UCLA coach, is pictured alongside the All American, who scored 37 points to defeat Purdue, 92-72, capturing the third straight championship game.
John Wooden, who is referred to in basketball circles as the "Wonder of Westwood," shouts directions to his players from the bench during the NCAA championship game on March 31, 1975.
Louisville Cardinals' head coach Denny Crum talks with John Wooden, right, prior to the Hall of Fame Enshrinement dinner on May 9, 1994, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Then-president of the United States George W. Bush shakes hands with former basketball coach John R. Wooden after presenting Wooden with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during an East Room event at the White House on July 23, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
301 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
Former UCLA head coach John Wooden with some of his former players who came to Pauley Pavilion for the dedication of the basketball floor in Wooden's name along with his wife, Nell.
125 S Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN 46204, United States
Coach John Wooden with Dee Brown, coach Bruce Weber and other members of the winning Illinois team after Illinois 89-70 win at the John Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse (now Bankers Life Fieldhouse), Indianapolis, on November 27, 2004.
301 W 13th St, Kansas City, MO 64105, United States
Former coaches Dean Smith and John Wooden during semi-final action between Air Force and Duke at the annual CBE Classic at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri on November 20, 2006.
2695 E Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806, United States
Former college basketball coach John Wooden chats with Yusef Smith, Patrick Mills and Lucas Walker of the Saint Mary's College Gaels after a 69-64 win over the San Diego State Aztecs during the John Wooden Classic at the Honda Center on December 8, 2007 in Anaheim, California.
2695 E Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806, United States
Russell Westbrook of the UCLA Bruins shakes hands with former college basketball coach John Wooden after a 75-63 win over the Davidson Wildcats during the John Wooden Classic at the Honda Center, on December 8, 2007, in Anaheim, California.
2695 E Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806, United States
Former coach John Wooden laughs with members of the UCLA Bruins, including his great-grandson Tyler Trapani #4, after the John R. Wooden Classic game against the DePaul Blue Demons at the Honda Center on December 13, 2008 in Anaheim, California.
Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
(Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much ...)
Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden.
(This book of 60 daily readings is the result of one-on-on...)
This book of 60 daily readings is the result of one-on-one conversations between basketball's legendary coach and teacher, John Wooden, and Jay Carty, former Laker and one-time Wooden assistant. Each of the two-page readings contains life wisdom from the coach, application and reflection from Jay and a daily Scripture reading and prayer.
(Based on John Wooden's own method to victory, Coach Woode...)
Based on John Wooden's own method to victory, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success reveals that success is built block by block, where each block is a crucial principle contributing to lifelong achievement in every area of life.
Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence
(Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success presents ...)
Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success presents a unique opportunity to study under the man ESPN hails as "the greatest coach of the 20th century." Practicing character-based leadership before the term was invented, John Wooden consistently led his legendary teams to victory and taught countless business leaders his fundamentals for achieving and sustaining success.
(From the legendary basketball coach who inspired generati...)
From the legendary basketball coach who inspired generations of athletes and businesspeople, an inspiring book about the power of mentoring and being mentored.
The Wisdom of Wooden: My Century On and Off the Court
(The Wisdom of Wooden is John Wooden's final book, complet...)
The Wisdom of Wooden is John Wooden's final book, completed just weeks before his passing in June 2010. In it, he shares his most treasured memories and never-before-seen photographs as he looks back on an extraordinary life on and off the court.
John Wooden was an American basketball coach who directed teams of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in 12 seasons. Several of his UCLA players became professional basketball stars.
Background
John Wooden was born on October 14, 1910 in Hall, Indiana, United States. He was one of four sons of Joshua Wooden and Roxie Rothrock Wooden, rural Indiana farmers. John had three brothers - Maurice, Daniel, and William, and two sisters, one of whom died in infancy.
Education
Wooden's first home lacked both electricity and indoor plumbing, and his earliest attempts at basketball were made using a rag "ball" constructed by his mother and a tomato basket nailed to a barn wall. His father was a great moral influence, and Wooden wrote and spoke of him throughout his life, quoting his philosophical maxims, especially his saying, "Make each day your masterpiece." In 1924 the family moved to Martinsville, Indiana, where Wooden played on the Martinsville High School team for three years (with the nickname "Martinsville Rubberman"), earning All-State recognition each year; he also played baseball and ran track.
Wooden graduated from high school in 1928. He then traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana, and enrolled at Purdue University, where he played on the basketball team as a five-foot, ten-inch guard for coach Ward "Piggy" Lambert. Noted for his hard drives to the basket, Wooden was named an All-American in each of his final three years as a Boilermaker. He was also named the National College Player of the Year as a senior and received the Big Ten Medal for excellence in athletics and scholarship that year. Wooden graduated in 1932 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering.
Wooden earned his Master of Science degree from Indiana State University in 1947.
After graduation from Purdue University, Wooden was offered $5,000 to play with the famous Boston Celtics. However, he instead took a job teaching and coaching at Danville High School in Kentucky; in 1933-1934 he suffered his only losing record in a season as a coach. He returned to Indiana in 1934 to teach and coach at Central High School in South Bend while playing semiprofessional basketball with the Kautsky Grocers in Indianapolis. After the United States entered World War II, Wooden served as a fitness officer, lieutenant second grade, in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. After the war, he took a job as the head basketball coach at Indiana State Teachers College in Terre Haute, where in two seasons he compiled a record of 47-14. Wooden declined an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics postseason tournament in Kansas City when he learned that his African-American reserve player Clarence Walker would not be permitted to play.
Wooden's success at Indiana State made him marketable, and he hoped to land the vacant Big Ten head coaching position at the University of Minnesota. However, telephone transmission trouble meant that Minnesota lost out to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), whose call got through first. In 1948 Wooden joined the historic midwestern migration to southern California, signing a three-year contract with the Bruins. Wooden's success was immediate. His first team in Westwood, the Los Angeles neighborhood housing the school, went 22-7, and his 1949-1950 team achieved a 24-7 record while winning the Pacific Coast League. After three seasons playing in the tiny campus gym, which seated only 1,000 people, the Bruins became nomadic for the next fourteen years, playing in various Los Angeles venues until the opening of Pauley Pavilion in the mid-1960s. The Bruins won league titles again in 1952 and 1956, but were overshadowed in California by the University of San Francisco teams of the mid-1950s, which won sixty consecutive games and back-to-back national titles under coach Phil Woolpert, and the University of California Golden Bears under coach Pete Newell, who won the 1959 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament and then lost in the final game in 1960.
Wooden's competitiveness showed often as he yelled at both officials and opposing players, clutching a crucifix in one hand and a rolled-up program in the other. Wooden never cared for recruiting, but his breakthrough came when Walt Hazzard of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, came west to play for the Bruins. Wooden reached his first Final Four in 1962, losing to the eventual champion Cincinnati in the semifinals. In 1964 Wooden achieved his first national championship as the Bruins prevailed 98-83 over Duke University. With no player taller than six feet, five inches tall, UCLA won via its fast pace and constant pressure, made possible by superior conditioning that especially showed in the waning minutes of their games, the 2-2-1 zone press, and the leadership of Hazzard and his teammate Gail Goodrich. The Bruins successfully defended their title in an undefeated season in 1964-1965, beating the University of Michigan 91-80 in the final.
In autumn 1965 the seven-foot, one-inch recruit Lewis Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) arrived on campus from New York City and led the freshman team to a 75-60 victory over the defending national champions. Wooden's 1966-1967 team started four sophomores from the previous year's unbeaten freshman team (freshmen were ineligible for varsity competition). He demonstrated his coaching flexibility in designing a low-post offense to take advantage of Alcindor's skills. Alcindor began his varsity career by scoring fifty-six points, a school record, against the crosstown rival Southern California. The Bruins won their third national title in four years, 79-64 over the University of Dayton, and finished 30-0. Dunking was outlawed after this season because of Alcindor. The Alcindor era concluded with two more NCAA championships, making an unprecedented three in a row. The rise in interest in college basketball was seen on January 20, 1968 when the University of Houston edged the Bruins 71-69 before an Astrodome audience of 52,693, an NCAA record, in the first regular-season college basketball game ever nationally televised. The Bruins went 88-2 during the Alcindor years.
But even with Alcindor's graduation in 1969, the beat went on in Westwood. With a mission to show there was more to UCLA basketball than one superstar, the 1969-1970 Bruins again won the national title, 80-69 over Jacksonville University, and made it five in a row in 1971. Some began to call the NCAA "The UCLA Invitational," Wooden was referred to as the "Wizard of Westwood," more and more people were becoming interested in his motivational system (dubbed the "Pyramid of Success"), and the UCLA mystique was at its height. The Bill Walton era began in 1971, freshmen now being eligible. The six-foot, eleven-inch center from San Diego helped stretch the Bruins' winning streak to a new record of eighty-eight (ended at the University of Notre Dame but avenged a week later) and two more national titles, making that particular streak an unbelievable seven straight. The end finally came in the 1974 national semifinals against North Carolina State University, the eventual champions, in double overtime. Walton graduated, but Wooden's 1974-1975 team, with only one returning starter, again returned to the Final Four. After a narrow and difficult victory in overtime over the University of Louisville, coached by Wooden's former player and longtime assistant Denny Crum, at the press conference following that game, Wooden suddenly and shockingly announced that he had just decided his next game, the 1975 final, would be his last. The Bruins responded by defeating the University of Kentucky 92-85, to give Wooden a final NCAA title, his tenth.
Even in his nineties, Wooden remained active in retirement into the twenty-first century. He sometimes criticized showmanship and lack of team play, but coaches and players continued to seek out his opinions on all aspects of the game. He was a highly successful coach before his teams began their amazing streak of national championships. His many titles and impeccable integrity, founded on a strong and open Christian faith, aroused interest in his system and ideas, which were traditional.
Wooden also wrote several books on lessons from his experience as a coach, for example, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court (1997) and Wooden on Leadership (2005).
(The Wisdom of Wooden is John Wooden's final book, complet...)
2010
Religion
After his wife's death, Wooden was comforted by his faith. He was a devout Christian and considered his beliefs more important to him than basketball. He read the Bible daily and attended the First Christian Church.
Politics
John Wooden described himself politically as a "Liberal Democrat," who had voted for some Republican presidential candidates.
Views
John Wooden lectured and authored a book about the Pyramid of Success. The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for succeeding at basketball and at life. At the top of the Pyramid of Success was "Competitive Greatness" which Wooden defined as "Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day."
Quotations:
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"
"Never lie, never cheat, never steal."
"Nothing will work unless you do."
"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."
"The best competition I have is against myself to become better."
"Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you."
"Young people need models, not critics."
"All of life is peaks and valleys. Don't let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low."
"If there's anything you could point out where I was a little different, it was the fact that I never mentioned winning."
"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."
"Be quick, but don't hurry."
"Earn the right to be proud and confident."
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable."
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."
"Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day."
"I think you have to be what you are. Don't try to be somebody else. You have to be yourself at all times."
"Well, if you're true to yourself you're going to be true to everyone else."
"Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then."
"Don't let yesterday take up too much of today."
"Discipline yourself, and others won't need to."
"I had three rules for my players: No profanity. Don't criticize a teammate. Never be late."
"It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it."
"Ability is a poor man's wealth."
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
"Just try to be the best you can be; never cease trying to be the best you can be. That's in your power."
"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent."
"It isn't what you do, but how you do it."
Membership
Wooden was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity.
Personality
John Wooden is considered the most successful college basketball coach in history. However, what made him truly successful was his integrity, his positive influence on players, and his unquenchable thirst for success.
Wooden possessed two traits that not many men had: integrity and humility; he made sure his team and himself stuck to the moral code and values that he taught and made no exceptions. Although many saw Wooden as a very complex, sophisticated man, he was really down to earth. He didn't believe in gloating or arrogance, but stayed humble and accepted a certain level of humility. John was a genuine kindhearted character, regretting his actions, recognizing his mistakes, and learning from them.
Physical Characteristics:
John Wooden was 5'10" (178 cm) tall.
In 2006, Wooden received treatment for diverticulitis. The next year, he was hospitalized for bleeding in the colon. In the fall of 2008, Wooden broke his left wrist and his collarbone. In February 2009, he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia.
John Wooden died of natural causes at age 99.
Quotes from others about the person
Jim Murray: "Wooden is so square he's divisible by four."
Interests
reading, writing, family
Sport & Clubs
basketball
Athletes
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes (later Jamaal Wilkes), Gail Goodrich, Fuzzy Vandivier, and Sidney Wicks
Connections
John Wooden met his future wife, Nellie Riley, in high school. They married in a small ceremony in August 1932. The couple had a son, James Hugh Wooden, and a daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen. Nellie died from cancer at age 73.
Wooden remained devoted to Nellie's memory until his own death. He kept to a monthly ritual - visited her crypt in the mausoleum on the 21st of every month and wrote a love letter to her, which he placed in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.
Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
Coach Wooden and Me is a stirring tribute to the subtle but profound influence that Wooden had on Kareem as a player, and then as a person, as they began to share their cultural, religious, and family values while facing some of life's biggest obstacles.
2017
Success Is in the Details: And Other Life Lessons from Coach Wooden's Playbook
For nearly 20 years, John Wooden ran scores of summer youth basketball camps, imparting wisdom and teaching skills to thousands of boys and girls between the ages of eight and fifteen. Most would not grow up to play professional or even college ball, but all of them found their lives changed by their interaction with the greatest coach who ever lived. In those camps, coach Wooden also impacted hundreds of camp counselors and assistant coaches. This one-of-a-kind book shares their inspiring stories, highlighting six fundamental lessons from coach Wooden for a life of success and unforgettable impact on others.
2019
Wooden: A Coach's Life
A provocative and revelatory new biography of the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, by one of America's top college basketball writers.
2014
You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned: John Wooden's Teaching Principles and Practices
Co-author Swen Nater, one of John Wooden's former basketball players at UCLA, provides insightful first-hand accounts on the many life lessons he learned from Wooden that he has applied to his life since becoming a teacher himself. Wooden's principles, conveyed by Nater and co-author Ronald Gallimore in this book, can be studied and applied by teachers, coaches, parents and anyone else who is responsible for, works with, or supervises others.