On his 99th birthday, 99 things about John Wooden

 

To commemorate the legendary coach's birthday, here are some facts and figures about his life.

In honor of John Wooden's 99th birthday, here are 99 things you may, or may not, know about the legendary former UCLA basketball coach:

1. He was born in Martinsville, Ind., on Oct. 14, 1910.

2. Wooden led Martinsville High to the Indiana state title in 1927 and runner-up finishes in 1926 and 1928.

3. As a boy, one of his role models was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a basketball team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922.

4. He was a three-time high school all-state selection.

5. Wooden met his future wife, Nell Riley, at a carnival in July 1926.

6. They married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932. Afterward, they attended a Mills Brothers concert to celebrate.

7. Wooden and Nell were married 53 years before Nell's death in 1985.

8. After high school, Wooden enrolled at Purdue, where he won varsity letters in basketball and baseball his freshman year and earned All-American honors as a guard on the basketball team in 1930-32.

9. He was a three-time consensus All-American.

10. Wooden was captain of Purdue's basketball teams in 1931 and 1932 and led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten titles and the 1932 national championship.

11. While playing basketball at Purdue, Wooden was nicknamed "the Indiana Rubber Man" for his dives on the hardcourt.

12. Wooden is noted for his philosophical quotes about life and sportsmanship, such as: "Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be."

13. After college, he spent several years playing professionally with the Indiana Kautskys (later the Indianapolis Jets), Whiting Ciesar All-Americans and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans while teaching and coaching in high school.

14. During one 46-game stretch, he made 134 consecutive free throws.

15. His first coaching job was at Dayton High in Kentucky.

16. In his first year, the team went 6-11, his only losing record as a coach.

17. Wooden went on to coach basketball, baseball and tennis at South Bend Central High in Indiana and taught English for nine years. His 11-year high school coaching record was 218-42.

18. World War II interrupted his coaching career and he was a lieutenant in the Navy from 1943 to 1946.

19. Following his discharge in 1946, he went to Indiana Teachers College (now Indiana State University) as athletic director, basketball and baseball coach for two seasons before moving to UCLA.

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