John Oldham (basketball)

John Oldham (June 22, 1923 – November 23, 2020) was an American college and professional basketball player, college basketball coach and athletic director.[1] Oldham interrupted his studies at Western Kentucky University (WKU) to serve in the US 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 team to three conference champtionships. He returned to WKU in 1964 to manage the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team, leading them to four NCAA tournaments and winning five Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championships. Oldham left the Hilltoppers in 1971 to become athletic director of 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.

John Oldham
Personal information
Born(1923-06-22)June 22, 1923
Beaver Dam, Kentucky
DiedNovember 23, 2020(2020-11-23) (aged 97)
Bowling Green, Kentucky
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolHartford (Hartford, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (1942–1943, 1946–1949)
BAA draft1949 / Round: 2
Selected by the Fort Wayne Pistons
Playing career1949–1951
PositionGuard
Number4
Career history
1949–1951Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points926 (7.3 ppg)
Rebounds242 (3.6 rpg)
Assists226 (1.8 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Career

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 a 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.[2]

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.[3]

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 146–41 with a 78% winning percentage, leading them to four NCAA tournaments and an NIT berth while winning five Ohio Valley Conference championships.[4] He led the Hilltoppers to the 1971 NCAA Tournament to the Final Four and finished third overall.[5] 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.[6] He was named Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year four times.[4]

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).[3]

In 1991 Oldham was elected to the Bowling Green City Commission and was re-elected twice, serving as Commissioner through December 1998.[7]

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.[8]

Cultural impact

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 highly pressured not to start all five together, but said "they are my best five players."[9]

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.[10]

In 1980 Oldham hired the first African-American head coach in school history, when he named Clem Haskins basketball coach.[11]

On December 27, 2012, WKU honored Oldham in a pregame ceremony in which the court at EA Diddle Arena was named "John Oldham Court."[12] Oldham was a player, assistant and head men's basketball coach, and athletic director during his time at WKU.[13]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles[14] (Ohio Valley Conference) (1955–1964)
1955–56 Tennessee Tech 14–77–3T–1st
1956–57 Tennessee Tech 9–111–96th
1957–58 Tennessee Tech 17–98–21stNCAA University Division First Round
1958–59 Tennessee Tech 16–97–53rd
1959–60 Tennessee Tech 13–97–43rd
1960–61 Tennessee Tech 6–133–96th
1961–62 Tennessee Tech 16–67–5T–2nd
1962–63 Tennessee Tech 16–88–4T–1stNCAA University Division First Round
1963–64 Tennessee Tech 11–117–7T–4th
Tennessee Tech: 118–83 (.587)55–48 (.534)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers[15] (Ohio Valley Conference) (1964–1971)
1964–65 Western Kentucky 18–910–42ndNIT Second Round
1965–66 Western Kentucky 25–314–01stNCAA University Division Regional Third Place
1966–67 Western Kentucky 23–313–11stNCAA University Division First Round
1967–68 Western Kentucky 18–79–53rd
1968–69 Western Kentucky 16–109–53rd
1969–70 Western Kentucky 22–314–01stNCAA University Division First Round
1970–71 Western Kentucky 24–612–21stNCAA University Division Third Place*
Western Kentucky: 146–41 (.781)81–17 (.827)
Total:264–124 (.680)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* 1971 NCAA Tournament participation later vacated by the NCAA

See also

References
  1. Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
  2. WKU Men's Basketball Media Guide: History Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on June 30, 2009.
  3. "Mr. John Oldham". Western Kentucky University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  4. "John Oldham Coaching Record".Retrieved on August 23, 2018.
  5. "Mr. John Oldham". Western Kentucky University Alumni Association.
  6. Slotnik, Daniel E. (September 8, 2017). "Jim McDaniels, 69, Dies; Led Western Kentucky to Final Four". New York Times.
  7. "John O Oldham". Bowling Green Daily News. BG Daily News. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  8. Frakes, Jason. "John Oldham, coach of WKU's 1971 Final Four basketball team, dies at age 97". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  9. 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.
  10. "The Red Towel". Western Kentucky University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  11. Lowell H. Harrison (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "#WKU Legend John Oldham Paints Name on New John Oldham Court in E.A. Diddle Arena" – WKU Sports
  14. 2019–2020 Tennessee Tech Men's Basketball Media Guide retrieved 2 July 2020
  15. 2019–2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
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