[QUOTE]Piles of items awaiting autographs occupy the living room table. Stacks of poetry anthologies, baseball books and Abraham Lincoln biographies litter the shelves. And enshrouding every inch of wall space are dozens of photos, some of Wooden’s late wife Nell and his extended family and others of the legendary basketball teams he coached.
As his colorful condo suggests, college basketball’s most iconic coach lived a remarkably full life, from his all-American playing days at Purdue, to his success on the bench at UCLA, to his 53-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He died at UCLA Medical Center on Friday four months shy of his 100th birthday, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy highlighted by a record-setting 88-game win streak, four undefeated seasons and 10 national titles from 1964 to 1975.
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Even after abruptly retiring following his last championship, Wooden remained relevant as an author and motivational speaker, mentor to younger coaches. Only after his failing health confined him to a wheelchair the past couple years did he finally stop attending games at Pauley Pavilion in his customary seat two rows behind the UCLA bench.
Wooden was hospitalized several times the past few years, suffering a broken left wrist and collarbone in a fall at his home in March 2008 and then overcoming a month-long bout of pneumonia nearly a year later. He remained as sharp and perceptive as ever during most of those medical woes, but former UCLA star Marques Johnson said Wooden’s condition deteriorated the past few weeks.
“From a selfish standpoint, you’d love to see him live as long as possible, hit 100 at least,” Johnson said. “But after spending a couple hours with him two weeks ago and seeing how he was struggling, reclined in his easy chair and nodding in and out, I felt it would be selfish on our part to want him to stay around just to hit that milestone. He was never about numbers, in life or in basketball. It was always about the quality of effort.”
That Wooden maintained those wholesome values throughout his life is a testament to his small-town upbringing.
Wooden was born Oct. 14, 1910, in Hall, Ind., the second-eldest son of a hard-working farming couple. Soft-spoken Joshua Wooden taught his four sons the value of hard work, having them assist tending crops and livestock and then reading them poetry and scriptures every night by coal lamp.
When John Wooden finished eighth grade, his father gave him a card with a seven-point creed on it that included such tenets as “Be True to yourself” and “Make each day your masterpiece.” Wooden later used those philosophies in coaching and kept a copy of the card in his pocket the rest of his life.
It’s ironic that Wooden forged a career for himself in basketball because baseball was actually always his favorite sport. The Indiana native split much of his free time between a baseball diamond amid the cornfields and a hoop nailed to the hayloft, wisely choosing to pursue basketball when he blossomed into a three-time all-state selection at Martinsville High School.[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-woodenobit060410"]http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-woodenobit060410[/URL]
Everyone seems to be dying :saddowns:
Edit: Both of the threads we made at the same time, so I'm not exactly late. Go visit the other thread, and could a mod please lock this?
