Purdue, 1932
John Wooden was an Honorary Inductee to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 1994.
John Wooden of Hall, Ind. began leading basketball teams in his high school career and was a three-time All-State selection. Wooden began at Purdue University in 1928 where he was a three-time All-American guard and was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930-32). Under coach Piggy Lambert, Wooden lead the Boilermakers to the 1932 National Championship. His reputation on the court as a fearless player and suicidal dives on the hard court earned Wooden the nickname, “The Indiana Rubber Man.” Wooden graduated in 1932 with a degree in English and was selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and was an honorary member of International Co-Ed Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. He also holds a Master's Degree from Indiana State Teacher's College (now Indiana State University), which he earned while coaching basketball and serving as athletic director.
Wooden began his coaching career at the high school level while teaching English. In eleven years of coaching high school basketball Wooden's teams won 218 games, losing only 42.
During World War II Wooden served with the United States Navy as a physical education instructor.
Wooden coached the UCLA Bruins from 1948-1975. The team began as one of the weakest in the Pacific Conference and under Coach Wooden’s supervision astonished skeptical viewers. With numerous conference titles along the way the Bruins achieved a long sought after goal in the 1964 season- perfect season and a win at the NCAA Championship. Overall, Wooden won 665 games in 27 seasons, and 10 NCAA championships during his last 12 seasons. His UCLA teams also had a record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30–0 seasons.
Wooden also has authored many books about basketball and life including a book about the Pyramid Of Success. The Pyramid of Success consists of building blocks for winning at basketball and at life. He believed that, “In anything, failure to prepare is failing to fail.”
Although Wooden earned lasting fame at UCLA and throughout the coaching community he remained humble. "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.
Wooden passed away June 4, 2010 at age 99 in Westwood, Los Angeles, Calif.