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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient John R. Wooden
President George W. Bush presents legendary UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden with the 2003 Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House July 23rd 2003.
John Wooden is the only person to be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Coach Wooden ended his coaching career of 40 seasons retiring in 1975 with 885 wins and only 203 losses.
John R. Wooden is a record-setting college basketball coach and exceptional teacher whose UCLA Bruins won 10 National Championships in 12 years. His teams reflected his discipline, character, and work ethic. His Pyramid of Success has inspired generations.
Coach John R. Wooden
John Wooden - The Pyramid of Success
Former Basketball Coach for the UCLA Bruins
UCLA's basketball program gained the
worldwide reputation of being rated number one. The major reason was head basketball coach John Robert Wooden, who announced his retirement in 1975 after his 27th season as the Bruins' head coach with the winningest record in basketball history.
Wooden concluded his 40th year as a head coach in 1975 with a record of 885 wins, 203 losses, and a winning percentage of .813 which is unequalled. In his 27 years at UCLA, his teams registered 620 wins against only 147 losses.
Under Wooden, UCLA won an unprecedented 10 NCAA Championships in 12 years, including seven in a row. Included in that string is one of the most amazing win streaks in sports, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories.
In addition, there is the all-time NCAA consecutive win-streak record of 88 in a row over four seasons: 15-0 at the close of 1970-71, 30-0 in both 1971-72 and 1972-73, and then 13 in succession in 1973-74 before the string was broken.
"The Wizard of Westwood" is the only coach to compile four undefeated seasons of 30-0 and his teams also captured 16 conference championships (one of the records Coach Wooden is most proud of), all at UCLA.
But the most emotional moment of his career came on the day following the Bruins 1970 NCAA championship victory over Jacksonville University. Coach Wooden received a telephone call from then President Nixon commending the players and coaches for their victory.
Born in Martinsville, Indiana on October 14, 1910, Wooden attended high school there and won All-State prep honors in basketball for three years, leading Martinsville High to the State title in 1927 and the runner-up spot in 1926 and 1928.
At Purdue University, he won letters in basketball and baseball as a freshman, then went on to win All-American honors as a basketball guard in 1930-31-32. He captained Purdue's great teams in 1931 and 1932 and led the team to two Big Ten titles and the 1932 National Collegiate Championship.
As an English major, his name was inscribed on Purdue's academic honor roll, and he was awarded the Big Ten Conference medal for outstanding merit and proficiency in scholarship and athletics for 1932.
Shortly after graduating from Purdue in 1932, he married his charming wife, Nell. He then began his teaching career at Dayton, Kentucky High School where he coached all sports. Two years later, he returned to South Bend Central High School in Indiana, where he coached basketball, baseball and tennis, and also taught English for nine years. His impressive 11 year prep coaching record was 218 wins and only 42 losses.
World War II interrupted his coaching career. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Navy with rank of full lieutenant. Following his discharge in 1946, he went to Indiana State University to become their athletic director and to coach their basketball and baseball teams for two seasons prior to heeding the call from UCLA.
"They Call Me Coach John Wooden"
Coach Wooden's autobiography with an entire chapter devoted to his dynamic formula for success! A must for anyone striving to reach their full potential. Fun and inspirational reading for all age groups.
John R. Wooden Award
The Wooden Award College Basketball Player of the Year Recipients
Past Winners
2001 - Shane Battier, Duke
2000 - Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati
1999 - Elton Brand, Duke
1998 - Antawn Jamison, North Carolina
1997 - Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
1996 - Marcus Camby, Massachusetts
1995 - Ed O'Bannon, UCLA
1994 - Glenn Robinson, Purdue
1993 - Calbert Cheaney, Indiana
1992 - Christian Laettner, Duke
1991 - Larry Johnson, UNLV
1990 - Lionel Simmons, LaSalle
1989 - Sean Elliot, Arizona
1988 - Danny Manning, Kansas
1987 - David Robinson, Navy
1986 - Walter Barry, St. John's
1985 - Chris Mullin, St. John's
1984 - Michael Jordan, North Carolina
1983 - Ralph Sampson, Virginia
1982 - Ralph Sampson, Virginia
1981 - Danny Ainge, BYU
UCLA to Honor Coach Wooden December 20,2003 by naming Pauley Pavilion Basketball Floor
“Nell and John Wooden Court”
John Wooden was head basketball coach and athletic director at Indiana State University for two successful years in the late 40's. The legendary "Wizard of Westwood" went directly from ISU to UCLA, where he led his Bruin basketball teams to an unprecedented 10 national championships, including eight consecutive titles.
Wooden, a native of Martinsville, Indiana, led his high school team to the Indiana state finals three times, winning once. He continued his career at Purdue University, where he was a three-time All-American, and known as perhaps the finest guard of his time.
A high school coach in South Bend before World War II, Wooden entered Indiana State University after the war to earn his Master's Degree, and subsequently was named head basketball coach and athletic director.
In the two years at the helm of the Sycamore program, he led ISU to a 44-15 record and his team finished runnerup in the NAIB National Tournament in Kansas City. Indiana State lost to Louisville in the finals of that tournament.
Wooden never lost a finals again. Coaching such stars as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Lucius Allen, Sidney Wicks, Gail Goodrich, and countless other great players, he established championship records which will probably never be broken.
Naismith Men's College Coach
of the 20th Century
John Wooden
John Wooden is the only person to be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Coach Wooden ended his coaching career of 40 seasons retiring in 1975 with 885 wins and only 203 losses.
In 1949, Wooden began coaching at UCLA, a basketball program that would earn a reputation of being No. 1 due to him. He coached 27 years at UCLA and won 10 NCAA championships, including 7 consecutive (1966-73). During these 27 years his record was 620-147 and during one period they won 149 of 151 games in Pauley Pavilion. He led UCLA to an all-time NCAA consecutive winning-streak record of 88 games over four seasons, which included consecutive 30-0 seasons in 1971-71 and 1972-73. He also recorded one of the most amazing win streaks in all of sports, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories. A record that Coach wooden is most proud of is that his UCLA teams captured 19 conference championships.
Coach John R. Wooden Timeline
October 14, 1910: Born in Martinsville, IN
1932: Named College Basketball "Player of the Year" while at Purdue
1932: Marries Nell, his high school sweetheart
1946-'47: After serving in U.S. Navy during World War II, appointed athletic director and basketball and baseball coach at Indiana Teachers College (now Indiana State)
1948: Hired as UCLA basketball coach; Bruins win Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division in his first year
1950: Leads UCLA to team's first NCAA tournament
1956: UCLA completes a perfect league season (16-0), the first of eight under Wooden's leadership
1960: Inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as a player
1962: UCLA reaches NCAA Final Four for the first time
1964: Defeats Duke to win first NCAA title; season finishes with unbeaten 30-0 record
1964: Named NCAA College Basketball "Coach of the Year." He receives the honor again in 1967, '69-'70 and '72-'73
1965: Defeats Michigan to win second NCAA title
1967: Wins third NCAA title, defeating Dayton
1968: In first nationally televised college basketball game, UCLA loses to Houston
1968: UCLA becomes first school to twice win back-to-back NCAA titles, defeating North Carolina for its fourth national championship
1969: Defeats Purdue to win fifth NCAA title, becoming first school to win three straight championships
1970: Bruins win sixth NCAA title, team's fourth in a row, defeating Jacksonville
1971: NCAA record-setting 88-game winning streak begins
1971: Defeating Villanova, Bruins win seventh NCAA title, the fifth straight
1972: Wooden inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, becoming the first person inducted in more than one category
1972: UCLA, with 30-0 record, wins eighth NCAA title, its sixth straight, defeating Florida State
1973: UCLA breaks consecutive-win record with 61st straight victory
1973: Bruins defeat Memphis State to win ninth NCAA championship-the team's seventh straight-becoming the first school to win back-to-back NCAA titles with perfect 30-0 record
1973: Named Sports Illustrated's "Sports' Man of the Year"
1974: 88-game winning streak ends with loss to Notre Dame
1974: Wooden named California "Grandfather of the Year" by National Father's Day Committee
March 29, 1975: Wooden announces his retirement after UCLA defeats Louisville in NCAA semifinal
March 31, 1975: In his last game, UCLA beats Kentucky to win 10th NCAA title in 12 years. In his final nine years as coach, Wooden compiles 259-12 record and wins eight NCAA championships
1977: First John Wooden Award, given to the nation's best player, goes to UCLA senior forward Marques Johnson
1985: Wooden becomes first sports figure to receive the Bellarmine Medal of Excellence; other recipients have included Mother Teresa and Walter Cronkite
1985: After 53 years of marriage, wife Nell dies
1994: Wooden named to Sports Iluistrated's "40 for the Ages"
1995: Wooden presented Reagan Distinguished American Award
1999: Wooden named by ESPN as the Greatest Coach of the 20th Century
2003: Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom
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Medal History
