Howard Hobson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Howard A. "Hobby" Hobson (July 4, 1903 – June 9, 1991) was an influential college basketball coach, who authored numerous books on the subject. He also has the distinction of coaching the team who won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship in its inaugural year, 1939.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Hobson played basketball for four years at Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon, from which he graduated in 1922. During his time there, he was team captain for two years, and led the state championship-winning team in 1921.
He was captain of the University of Oregon's basketball team from 1924 to 1926, and in 1925, his team tied Oregon State Agricultural College for the conference title. However, they lost in the playoffs. A year later, the team won the conference title, but lost to the University of California in the playoffs. This 1926 team was nevertheless undefeated in the conference, with a win record of 10-0. In the same year, he graduated from the University with a bachelor's degree. He went on to obtain a master's degree in 1929 and a doctorate in 1945, both from Columbia University.
Hobson began his coaching career in Kelso High School in Kelso, Washington in 1928, where he would remained until 1928. In his last year, his team won the league championship. In 1929, he was the head football coach at the Cortland Normal School, now known as State University of New York College at Cortland. Between 1930 and 1932 he coached Benson High School in Portland. They won the championship in his final year there. Hobson subsequently led Southern Oregon State College to three consecutive league championship victories (in 1933, 1934 and 1935).
Returning to the University of Oregon, Hobson took over coaching duties for the University of Oregon Ducks, helping them to victory in the first ever NCAA title (in 1939) and in three consecutive Pacific Coast Conference titles (in 1937, 1938 and 1939). His 1939 team was known as the "Tall Firs" because of their size; the players averaged about 6", which was considered very tall for a basketball player at the time.
Hobson left the University of Oregon in 1947. From then until 1956, he coached at Yale University, during which time his teams won or shared five Big Three crowns (1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1956). The 1949 team was the first NCAA entry in the school's history and won the Eastern Intercollegiate League title for the first time in 16 years.
Hobson was the first coach to win championships at a major college level on both coasts. He also pioneered intersectional play at Oregon, making the Ducks the first Western team to travel East for games. He repeated this type of intersectional play at Yale, and the 1948-49 team was the first Yale team to appear on the Pacific Coast. His overall record for 27 years as a coach was 495-291.
In 1947, Hobson was named President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). For 12 years, he was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Basketball Committee. He served four years as a member and treasurer of the National Basketball Rules Committee, and conducted basketball clinics in the U.S. and in 15 foreign countries. On October 13, 1965, Howard Hobson was enshrined as a coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame, having also been inducted into the Portland High School, Helms Foundation, Oregon State and Portland Metro Halls of Fame.
In 1988, he attended the 50th Anniversary celebration of the founding of the NCAA Tournament.
Howard Hobson died on June 9, 1991.
| Preceded by Ivan Williamson |
Yale Men's Basketball Head Coach 1948–1956 |
Succeeded by Joe Vancisin |
[edit] Reference
NCAA, NCAA March Madness: Cinderellas, Superstars, and Champions from the NCAA Men's Final Four Chicago: Triumph Books, 2004. ISBN 1-57243-665-4
[edit] Further reading
Hobson, Howard A. Shooting Ducks: A History of University of Oregon Basketball Portland: Western Imprints/Oregon Historical Society Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87595-142-2
[edit] External links
Categories: 1903 births | 1991 deaths | American basketball coaches | American basketball players | Basketball Hall of Fame | High school basketball coaches | Oregon Ducks men's basketball players | Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches | People from Portland, Oregon | Yale Bulldogs men's basketball coaches
