Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 2) - John Wooden

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Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 1) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 2) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 3) - John Wooden

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Coaching Pressure

Day 2 of 3

Guest: John Wooden

From the series: True Success: A Personal Visit with John Wooden

Bob: A basketball tournament is a test. It's a test of a team's skill and a coach's savvy. But long before the players ever show up on the court, it can be a test of an individual's character as well. At least it was for Coach John Wooden in 1948.

John: I had one black player on my team, and they wouldn't let them play in the tournament, and I wouldn't go without him, because he was a part of the team, and finally they reluctantly said that he could come, but he couldn't stay in the hotel where the teams were staying. He could have his meals there, providing we would take them in a private room. So I refused the invitation and wouldn't go.

Bob: John Wooden, who would go on to be come one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, but he was a coach who was known as much for his character as for his basketball prowess. Stay with us for a conversation with the Coach, John Wooden on FamilyLife Today.

And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Thursday edition. You know, this would make one of those great trivia questions that pop up on those sports talk shows from time to time – who was the Indiana Rubber Man?

Dennis: Mm-hm.

Bob: Now, you know and I know, because we had a chance to talk to the Indiana Rubber Man, but I wonder how many of our listeners know that a man who is considered today to have perhaps been the greatest coach of all time in any sport, Coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins, was once one of the great players in basketball – both in college basketball and then in semi-pro basketball.

Dennis: That's right. He is one of two that are in the Basketball Hall of Fame, both as a player and a coach. The other is Lenny Wilkinson, I believe, and, of course, we talked yesterday about Coach Wooden and a little trip Bob and I made out to Southern California to interview him. He slipped into the studio with Bob and me, and you need to hang with us today and tomorrow, because at the end of tomorrow's broadcast, I'm going to tell you a cute story about Coach Wooden autographing a book for me.

Because I did play ball, as Bob mentioned yesterday, in college. My average was just about the same as Coach Wooden's, in fact – no, it really wasn't.

Bob: A little less than average is what's your average.

Dennis: Yeah, I was less than average, no doubt about it, but he was an All American, as you said, Bob, but he was more than that. He was a man of, I believe, a simple faith in Jesus Christ and in God and who lived out his commitments to his players, to his family, and to his wife, Nellie, and you're going to hear some touching moments about how this man fulfilled his marriage covenant with his wife.

Bob: Coach Wooden has been known throughout the years as a man of great integrity, great character, and a great molder of men, and if you ask him what he did, he says, "I was just a teacher. I've taught boys how to play basketball."

Dennis: Yeah, in fact, he almost went into teaching, which is interesting.

Bob: We'll hear about that today. This is taken from a conversation – an extended conversation – that we had with Coach John Wooden not long ago. Here is Dennis with Coach Wooden.

Dennis: A story that you tell that I want you to share with our listeners came at the conclusion of your first year at Indiana State University, where you won the conference title, and you received an invitation to play in the NAIA Tournament, but you turned them down. Why?

John: We had a pretty good year, the first year, and the NAIA Tournaments played in Kansas City – 32 teams then – and I had one black player on my team, and they wouldn't let them play in the tournament. So even though this was – of the 12 men on the team, he played the least of all, he didn't get to play very much, and I wouldn't go without him, because he was a part of the team. So I refused the invitation and wouldn't go.

Now, the next year I had everybody back on this team, exactly the same team, no one came in and beat anybody else out, and so the next year we had a good year, and were invited again, and I refused again, and finally they reluctantly said that he could come, but he couldn't stay in the hotel where the teams were staying. He'd have to stay someplace else. He could have his meals there, providing we would take them in a private room. I said no, I wouldn't do that, but I was persuaded by the NCAA and his parents that we should go; it might help. So we went, and he stayed with a minister and his wife and came into the hotel from the game. He didn't get to play very much at all, but that was the first black player that had ever played in that tournament, and I think a few years later an all-black team won. So we sort of opened the door a little bit.

Bob: You undoubtedly had some players – when you came back and told the team we've been invited to the tournament but we're not going to go because they won't accept this one player – there had to be some guys going, "Coach, I want to go to Kansas City, I want to play on the team. Let's just go along with their rules." Didn't anybody raise their hand in protest?

John: I don't think anyone protested. Some would have liked to have gone, yes, but they didn't. I knew these men, and most of them I'd had in high school before, and they knew how I felt about things, and there was no problem. They caused me no problem there.