American basketball coach
Philipp D. Woolpert
(December 15, 1915 ? May 5, 1987) was an American
basketball
coach, best known as the head coach of the
University of San Francisco
Dons
in the 1950s. He led them to consecutive
national championships
in
1955
and
1956
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in
Danville, Kentucky
, Woolpert was raised in
Los Angeles
, graduating from
Manual Arts High School
in 1933, in the depths of the
Great Depression
.
He attended
L.A. Junior College
and
Loyola University
, where he played
basketball
for three years, was initiated into the
Alpha Delta Gamma
fraternity
, and graduated in 1940 with a degree in
political science.
[1]
In 1946, Woolpert was hired as basketball coach for
St. Ignatius College Preparatory
in
San Francisco
, where he posted a 63?29 (.685) record in his four years as coach. Upon
Pete Newell
's departure for
Michigan State University
, the University of San Francisco hired Woolpert to succeed Newell. He assumed both the posts of men's basketball coach and athletic director.
During his tenure at USF, Woolpert posted a 153?78 (.662) record, including a 60-game win streak that at the time was the longest in college basketball, surpassed later by
John Wooden
's 88 straight wins at
UCLA
. Woolpert's teams, anchored by
Bill Russell
,
K. C. Jones
,
Gene Brown
, and
Mike Farmer
, were known for their defense and held opponents below 60 points on 47 different occasions. USF won the
NCAA tournament
in
1955
and
1956
, and finished third in
1957
. At the time the youngest college basketball coach to win a national championship, Woolpert also won Coach of the Year honors in 1955 and 1956.
After briefly coaching the
San Francisco Saints
of the
American Basketball League
, Woolpert returned to the college ranks in 1962, this time with the
University of San Diego
.
[1]
While at USD, Woolpert posted a
90?90
record and served as both men's basketball coach and athletic director.
Woolpert retired from coaching in 1969, and later settled down on the
Olympic Peninsula
in
Washington
and became a
school bus
driver
in
Sequim
.
[2]
[3]
He died of lung cancer at age 71 at his home
in 1987.
[4]
[5]
Woolpert's son Paul was the assistant coach of the G-League
South Bay Lakers
.
[6]
Head coaching record
[
edit
]
College
[
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]
See also
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Johnson, William (April 22, 1968).
"Triumph in obscurity"
.
Sports Illustrated
. p. 68.
- ^
a
b
Johnson, Roy S. (November 26, 1981).
"Phil Woolpert still shapes the lives of the young"
.
New York Times
. p. D15.
- ^
a
b
Cour, Jim (December 7, 1982).
"The tail should never wag the dog"
.
Spokesman-Review
. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
- ^
"Phil Woolpert is cancer victim at 71; coached USF to pair of NCAA titles"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Associated Press. May 7, 1987
. Retrieved
January 28,
2019
.
- ^
"Miscellany: Phil Woolpert"
.
Spokane Chronicle
. May 6, 1987. p. D3.
- ^
"Woolpert joins Lakers' D-League staff"
. 27 August 2015.
External links
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]
Links to related articles
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