John Wooden, the legendary UCLA college basketball coach, died this weekend at the remarkable age of 99. I remember vividly the great Bruin basketball teams Wooden coached during the 1960s and 1970s. His teams won 88 games, 12 national NCAA basketball championships, went undefeated four times, etc. In college he coached such eminent basketball stars as Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Gail Goodrich, and Bill Walton.
But what was also special to me about Coach Wooden was his faith. For years after his retirement from active coaching, he wrote books and taught seminars about success in life — including faith.
Wooden was married to one woman — his wife Nell, who died of cancer in 1985. They were both from Indiana, where they met and married. Years ago in mourning her death, Wooden was comforted by his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a Christian for many years, and he treasured his faith above basketball. “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate,” Coach Wooden once said. “It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.” Wooden’s faith strongly influenced his life and career as a legendary basketball coach. He read the Bible daily and was faithful in church. He said that he hoped his faith was apparent to others. Said Wooden, “If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me.”
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