men's basketball
team from 1964 to 1977. He compiled impressive numbers throughout his coaching career, resulting in his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame
in 1992, and was also well known for his colorful personality.
He played three years of basketball at St. John's Prep., Queens
, New York
(graduated 1947), and went on to star at St. John's University (1947–1951), where he played for four years and captained the 1951 team that posted a 26–5 mark and finished third in the NIT.
After college, McGuire played in the NBA
, first with the New York Knicks
(1951–53) and then with the Baltimore Bullets (1954).
"The world is run by C-students"
"Winning is only important in war and surgery," he said in 1975. A year later came another classic: "They call me eccentric. They used to call me nuts. I haven't changed."
"I don't know why people question the academic training of an athlete. Fifty percent of the doctors in this country graduated in the bottom half of their classes."
I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated.
When asked "How do you know a restaurant has good chili?" McGuire's answer, "If the waitress has dirty ankles, the chili is good."
Category:Coaches and managers|McGuire, Al