McGraw-Hill Remembers Legendary Coach and Bestselling Author John Wooden.
He
was foremost a teacher, but to the millions of people who followed his plain
spoken wisdom on character, leadership, and success, Coach Wooden was an icon.
John Wooden led his UCLA Bruins to ten NCAA men's basketball championships over a twelve-year period, including four perfect seasons and an 88-game winning streak. He was named ESPN's "Greatest Coach of the 20th Century," and in 2003 he was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
Yet throughout his life--from the farm in the Midwest to the Basketball Hall of Fame--John Wooden said of himself, "I am just a common man true to his beliefs." Those beliefs stemmed from the Seven Point Creed passed down to him from his father. It not only became the foundation for a legendary sports dynasty, it also gave rise to his winning philosophy on what he called the Pyramid of Success.
These building blocks of success fueled seven bestselling books published with McGraw-Hill: Wooden (1997), They Call Me Coach (2004), My Personal Best (2004), Wooden on Leadership (2005), The Essential Wooden (2007), and Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success (2009).
Coach Wooden said, "Make every day a masterpiece." And indeed Coach Wooden made his life a masterpiece. Coach's final book, The Wisdom of Wooden: A Century of Family, Faith, and Friends, is a commemorative of his life written with longtime collaborator Steve Jamison. Filled with fond personal memories, warm advice, and never-before-seen-photographs, it is an unforgettable tribute to the man we all called, "Coach."
Praise for John Wooden
"The Wisdom of Wooden has given me the life that I have . . . Thanks, Coach, for your faith and patience." --Bill Walton
"Most of what I know, what's made me a smart man, has come from John Wooden." --Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer
"John Wooden sets an example for all of us by constantly striving to be the best in every aspect of his life. Throughout my life, I have found inspiration and direction in the Bible. Today, I also find inspiration and direction in the words of John Wooden." --Tom Coughlin, Head Coach, New York Giants
"A man of John Wooden's accomplishments and integrity would stand out in any era, but now, almost three decades after he coached his last game, he is in some ways an even more striking figure." --Bob Costas
"John Wooden is a ‘philosopher-coach' in the truest sense: a man whose beliefs, teachings, and wisdom go far beyond sports and ultimately address how to bring out the very best in yourself and others in all areas of life." --Bill Walsh, three-time Super Bowl champion coach
"There has never been a finer coach in American sports than John Wooden. Nor a finer man." --Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated
"Coach Wooden's moral authority and brilliant definition of success encompass all of life. How I admire his life's work and concept of what it really means to win!" --Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
