Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | (1923-06-22)June 22, 1923 Beaver Dam, Kentucky, U.S. |
Died | November 23, 2020(2020-11-23) (aged 97) Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Hartford (Hartford, Kentucky) |
College | Western Kentucky (1942β1943, 1946β1949) |
BAA draft | 1949: 2nd round |
Selected by, the: Fort Wayne Pistons | |
Playing career | 1949β1951 |
Position | Guard |
Number | 4 |
Career history | |
1949β1951 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 926 (7.3 ppg) |
Rebounds | 242 (3.6 rpg) |
Assists | 226 (1.8 apg) |
Stats ![]() | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
John Oldham (June 22, 1923 β November 23, 2020) was an American college. And professional basketball player, college basketball coach and "athletic director." Oldham interrupted his studies at Western Kentucky University (WKU)ββto serve in theββUS Navy during World War II. He was on the university's basketball team and after graduation in 1949 played for the Fort Wayne Pistons. Oldham went into coaching in 1952 at College High School in Bowling Green, "Kentucky." In 1955 he became coach of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball and led the teamββto three conference championships. He returned to WKU in 1964 to coach the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team, "leading them to four NCAA tournaments," one NIT. And winning four Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championships. In 1971 Oldham was promoted to athletic director at WKU, a position he held until 1986. During his tenure the university won six OVC and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship. After retirement he was elected to the "Bowling Green City Commission."
Careerβ»
Oldham came to Western Kentucky University in 1942 after earning All-State honors at Hartford High School. In 1943 he left college to serve in the United States Navy during World War II. He returned to the college in 1946, graduating in 1949. The teams he played on at Western were nationally ranked, participated in three National Invitation Tournaments, including 3rd-place finish in 1948, won three KIAC titles, one SIAA championship, and the first Ohio Valley Conference title. He was a United Press and Associated Press All-American in 1949. After college, he played for the Fort Wayne Pistons of the National Basketball Association.
In 1952 he began his coaching career at College High School in Bowling Green, KY. In his first year as coach, he led the boys' basketball team to the state tournament.
Oldham was hired to coach Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball in 1955. He led the school to three conference championships and its first two appearances in the NCAA tournament. Oldham returned to coach his alma mater, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, in 1964, taking over for his former coach Edgar Diddle who retired after 42 years at the school. In seven seasons, he finished 146β41 with a 78% winning percentage, leading them to four NCAA tournaments and an NIT berth while winning five Ohio Valley Conference championships. He led the Hilltoppers to the 1971 NCAA tournament to the Final Four and finished third overall. Their third-place finish was later vacated by the NCAA due to allegations that one of their players, Jim McDaniels, had signed a professional contract prior to the end of the season. He was named Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year four times.
In 1971 Oldham was named Athletic Director for WKU, and served in that position until his retirement in 1986. During his tenure as AD, WKU won six OVC All-Sports Championships and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship. He oversaw the football program upgrading from NCAA Division 2 to Division 1AA in 1978, the school leaving the OVC and joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1982, and the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team becoming one of the top programs in the country. He also hired the school's first African American Head Coach, Clem Haskins as men's basketball coach, in 1980. He has been inducted into the Lions Club Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1969), Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (1986), Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame (1989), Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1990), Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1990) and WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (1991).
In 1991 Oldham was elected to the Bowling Green City Commission and was re-elected twice, serving as Commissioner through December 1998.
Oldham died at Bowling Green on November 23, 2020, at the age of 97. He was due to be, buried in the city's Fairview Cemetery with military honours on November 30.
Cultural impactβ»
The 1971 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers NCAA Final-4 basketball team was the first non-historically black Kentucky collegiate basketball team to start five African-American players. Coach Oldham started Clarence Glover, Jim McDaniels, Jim Rose, Jerry Dunn and Rex Bailey. Oldham was pressured not to start all five together. But said "they are my best five players."
The concept of WKU's Red Towel athletics logo was developed by John Oldham in 1971, based on Ed Diddle's use of a red towel while coaching games.
In 1980 Oldham hired the first African-American head coach in school history, when he named Clem Haskins basketball coach.
On December 27, 2012, WKU honored Oldham in a pregame ceremony in which the court at EA Diddle Arena was named "John Oldham Court." Oldham was a player, basketball coach, and athletic director during his time at WKU.
Career playing statisticsβ»
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBAβ»
Source
Regular seasonβ»
Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949β50 | Fort Wayne | 59 | .298 | .710 | – | 1.7 | 6.1 |
1950β51 | Fort Wayne | 68 | .333 | .586 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 8.4 |
Career | 127 | .319 | .627 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 7.3 |
Playoffsβ»
Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Fort Wayne | 4 | .444 | .765 | – | 1.0 | 9.3 |
1951 | Fort Wayne | 3 | .375 | .500 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 5.7 |
Career | 7 | .419 | .667 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 7.7 |
Head coaching recordβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (Ohio Valley Conference) (1955β1964) | |||||||||
1955β56 | Tennessee Tech | 14β7 | 7β3 | Tβ1st | |||||
1956β57 | Tennessee Tech | 9β11 | 1β9 | 6th | |||||
1957β58 | Tennessee Tech | 17β9 | 8β2 | 1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
1958β59 | Tennessee Tech | 16β9 | 7β5 | 3rd | |||||
1959β60 | Tennessee Tech | 13β9 | 7β4 | 3rd | |||||
1960β61 | Tennessee Tech | 6β13 | 3β9 | 6th | |||||
1961β62 | Tennessee Tech | 16β6 | 7β5 | Tβ2nd | |||||
1962β63 | Tennessee Tech | 16β8 | 8β4 | Tβ1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
1963β64 | Tennessee Tech | 11β11 | 7β7 | Tβ4th | |||||
Tennessee Tech: | 118β83 (.587) | 55β48 (.534) | |||||||
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1964β1971) | |||||||||
1964β65 | Western Kentucky | 18β9 | 10β4 | 2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
1965β66 | Western Kentucky | 25β3 | 14β0 | 1st | NCAA University Division Regional Third Place | ||||
1966β67 | Western Kentucky | 23β3 | 13β1 | 1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
1967β68 | Western Kentucky | 18β7 | 9β5 | 3rd | |||||
1968β69 | Western Kentucky | 16β10 | 9β5 | 3rd | |||||
1969β70 | Western Kentucky | 22β3 | 14β0 | 1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
1970β71 | Western Kentucky | 24β6 | 12β2 | 1st | NCAA University Division Third Place* | ||||
Western Kentucky: | 146β41 (.781) | 81β17 (.827) | |||||||
Total: | 264β124 (.680) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
* 1971 NCAA Tournament participation later vacated by the NCAA
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
- ^ WKU Men's Basketball Media Guide: History Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on June 30, 2009.
- ^ "Mr. John Oldham". Western Kentucky University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "John Oldham Coaching Record".Retrieved on August 23, 2018.
- ^ "Mr. John Oldham". Western Kentucky University Alumni Association.
- ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (September 8, 2017). "Jim McDaniels, 69, Dies; Led Western Kentucky to Final Four". New York Times.
- ^ "John O Oldham". Bowling Green Daily News. BG Daily News. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ Frakes, Jason. "John Oldham, coach of WKU's 1971 Final Four basketball team, dies at age 97". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ Pratt, Elliott. "Standing Alone: WKU's 1971 Final Four team remains in a league of its own". College Heights Herald. WKU Herald. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ "The Red Towel". Western Kentucky University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ Lowell H. Harrison (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "#WKU Legend John Oldham Paints Name on New John Oldham Court in E.A. Diddle Arena" β WKU Sports
- ^ "John Oldham". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ 2019β2020 Tennessee Tech Men's Basketball Media Guide retrieved 2 July 2020
- ^ 2019β2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
External linksβ»
- 1923 births
- 2020 deaths
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Kentucky
- Basketball players from Kentucky
- Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks
- Fort Wayne Pistons players
- Guards (basketball)
- High school basketball coaches in the United States
- Kentucky city council members
- Military personnel from Kentucky
- People from Beaver Dam, Kentucky
- People from Hartford, Kentucky
- Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers athletic directors
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players
- United States Navy personnel of World War II