John Wooden: An American Treasure [Hardcover]

Steve Bisheff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Even today, 29 years after retiring from coaching basketball at UCLA, John Wooden remains America's Coach. John Wooden: An American Treasure is the definitive book on his extraordinary life, from his early years as a small-town legend from Martinsville, Indiana, and an All-American guard at Purdue to his legendary years at UCLA and the fruitful years following his retirement. Here is the story of his relationship with his late wife, Nell: their love affair for the ages, his deep depression after her death in 1985, and how his faith and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren provided him with the reason to embrace life again. The events that led to his decision to walk away from coaching at the pinnacle of success in 1975 are explained in detail, as well as the carefully planned words he used to tell his shocked players in the locker room that he would be retiring after the NCAA Finals game in San Diego. Here are the behind-the-scenes stories of how Wooden was offered the chance to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates, how he developed his famous Pyramid of Success, and the real secret behind why his UCLA teams were able to win more consistently than any other collegiate team ever. Here are up-close, personal moments that reveal what his life is now. On the year of the 40th anniversary of his first national championship at UCLA, and more than 30 years after his autobiography, John Wooden: An American Treasure reveals why this kind, endearing, unbelievably intelligent coaching legend, even at age 94, remains one of the more fascinating, extraordinary, yet humble men of this, or any, generation. Ultimately he has become America's Teacher as much as its most celebrated coach.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bisheff explores the secret passages of Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, and he finds treasures we never knew existed. -- Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune

Bisheff's book is like getting a rare inside look at the greatest dynasty in the history of college sports. -- Dick Weiss, New York Daily News

About the Author

STEVE BISHEFF has covered John Wooden longer and more extensively than any other journalist, beginning as a young UCLA beat writer in the early championship years through Wooden’s final season and the years since he retired. Bisheff has been a sports columnist for the Orange County Register since 1982, covering everything from the Super Bowl to the Olympics, as well as the Angels, Lakers, Dodgers, USC, UCLA, and major horse races.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing; First Edition edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581824076
• ISBN-13: 978-1581824070
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best on Wooden, December 24, 2004

By 

Bob Ewing (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Wooden: An American Treasure (Hardcover)

This bio by Steve Bisheff of the OC Register is the best on Coach that I've read. I've read everything on Coach Wooden and couldn't put this one down. It took me back 40+ years when I first began to take notice of the Coach and his Bruins. What a great celebration of the career and life of the greatest coach and teacher there's ever been. Without painting him as perfect this bio highlights the character of a man who didn't just coach basketball players, but taught youing men about life. What's amazing is that 40-50 years later his boys are successful in life because of his influence and not afraid to proclaim their love for their Coach. This is a must read especially for Wooden/UCLA fans

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest John Wooden Biography, May 7, 2005

By 

JAMES H. LISTER (DENTON, MARYLAND USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wooden: An American Treasure (Hardcover)

This splendid biographical study details many obscurely known facets of John Wooden's public and private life such as that he was a schoolteacher at one time. It especially excels on describing Wooden's family life and his continuing friendship with his former players after he retired from coaching at U.C.L.A. in 1975. It also updates the reader on what activities have transpired in the lives of Coach Wooden's former players after their collegiate basketball playing days.

This definitive biography would be more complete if the author had included a bibliography but for some mysterious reason this was omitted. John Wooden was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts as a player and a coach. He is generally considered to have been the greatest college basketball coach of all time. This book is also remiss in that it doesn't include numerous details of John's professional playing career for the Indianapolis Kautskys in the 1930's after John graduated from Purdue University having been an All-American for three years. The author mentions that John Wooden once sank at least one hundred consecutive free throws while playing for the Indianapolis Kautskys. However the author's citation of this incident is vaguely imprecise. In a personal communication with me John Wooden confided that he sank 134 consecutive free throws for the Indianapolis Kautskys. John stated to me that Frank Kautsky personally gave him a one hundred dollar bill after John had sunk his one hundredth free throw in a row. John's 134 consecutive free throws sunk in competitive league play is the all-time record on the professional, collegiate or high school level.

I have always admired John Wooden's life-style values and coaching philosophy. He had to have been one of the most underpaid talents of all time since the highest salary he ever received in his lifetime at U.C.L.A. was in his retirement year in 1975 when he received an unbelievably low income of $32,500!

It is a shame that a painting doesn't exist of John Wooden by the famed artist Norman Rockwell. John truly is a Rockwell "Americana" treasure. It has been my pleasure to have known this treasure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent biography of the man who should be the most admired person in sports, October 11, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: John Wooden: An American Treasure (Paperback)

There are many records in sports that have been or are considered unbreakable. For years, two sports records that were considered unbreakable were Lou Gehrig's streak of consecutive games played and Joe Dimaggio's streak of consecutive games with at least one hit. Cal Ripken eclipsed Gehrig's streak, demonstrating that no record is unbreakable. The sports record that now seems most unattainable is basketball coach John Wooden's record of consecutive victories and NCAA championships while he was coaching at UCLA. His record of 10 championships in 12 years is amazing, including an incredible seven in a row. Furthermore, a few more favorable bounces in the championship game in 1974 and it would have been 11 out of 12.

In the world of basketball coaches that stomp the sidelines and scream at the officials, yell at their players and sometime approach the level of sadistic workouts, Wooden was extremely understated. He was calm, organized and didn't even scout the opposition. His philosophy was that if his team executed their roles properly, no one could stop them. In general he was right, although he did have two of the greatest college players of all time in Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton.

While Wooden did occasionally stray from his placid path, it was very rare and he was always gracious about it. His greatest asset was to never consider himself to be the titan of the game that he is, in public Wooden always gave credit to his players. The most amazing fact in this book is how low his salary was at UCLA. Even at his peak, he was earning less than low-level assistants were earning at many other universities. He was so humble that he never made any salary demands. He turned down enormous offers to coach in the pros and he chose to quit when his team was still champion.

When you read this book, you cannot help but be awed by what Wooden accomplished and how he did it. Over the years, his players changed, both in physical ability and temperament. Yet he was always able to find that middle ground of altering the players and his style so that all were happy and he continued down the path of incredible success. In a world of colossal egos, fiercely held and expressed personal glory, criminal behavior among athletes and profanity laced sporting events, Wooden demonstrated how to do it right. If there is a man who deserves to be an American icon, it is John Wooden. This is the only biography I have ever read where the humility of the person is never overwhelmed by the superlatives of the description.