John Wooden
Athlete
Inducted: July 5, 1991
Ninth Annual Induction Ceremony
San Diego, California
(The following appeared in that year’s HOF induction program)
Understandably, most people think of UCLA at the mention of John Wooden's name. But long-time basketball fans in Indiana recognize Wooden as one of the best high school basketball players ever to don a uniform.
In four years at Martinsville High School, Wooden led his team to the state championship game three times, winning the 1927 title and finishing second in 1926 and 1928.
In his junior and senior seasons, Wooden, a guard, was the team's leading scorer and was named to the all-state team.
In the book "Hoosier Hysteria" published in 1970, Wooden was named to the all-time Indiana high school all-star team, which includes George McGinnis and Oscar Robertson. And when the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame was established in 1962, Wooden was among five players chosen for the inaugural class.
Wooden's athletic prowess continued at Purdue University, where he became the nation's first three-time basketball all-American. He was team captain in 1931 and 1932 and all-Big Ten Conference three years, and he set a Big Ten scoring record in 1932.
In 1948, Wooden began a 27-year association with UCLA that will be remembered as one of the greatest coaching accomplishments in history.
From 1964 to 1975, Wooden's UCLA teams won 10 NCAA championships - including seven straight - and compiled a 219-10 won-lost record, including an 88-game winning streak, a record which is destined to stand for many years.
Wooden's final 29-year collegiate coaching record, including two years at Indiana State, was 664-162, an 80.4 percentage which ranks fourth all-time behind Clair Bee, Jerry Tarkanian and Adolph Rupp.
Wooden previously was inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach. In 1989, the John R. Wooden Gymnasium was dedicated at Martinsville High.
Wooden was born October 14, 1910, in Martinsville, Indiana, and now lives in Encino, California.
