Sam Barry
Encyclopedia
Justin McCarthy "Sam" Barry (December 17, 1892 – September 23, 1950) was an American collegiate athletic
coach
who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports. He remains one of only three coaches to lead teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series
.
. After starring in basketball
, baseball
and football
while a high school student in Madison, Wisconsin
, he continued his success at Lawrence College
, later completing his degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He returned to Madison High School to begin his coaching career, and then proceeded to become athletic director at Knox College in Illinois from 1918 to 1922, where he also served as coach of football, basketball, baseball and track
.
In 1922, Barry was named basketball coach at the University of Iowa
, and also became a football assistant under then Hawkeyes coach Howard Jones, an association which would continue for 15 years at two universities. Barry also coached the Iowa baseball team in 1923 and 1924. He led the Hawkeye basketball team to Big Ten Conference
co-championships in 1923 and 1926—the first two conference titles in team history—and helped Jones guide the football squad to an undefeated 7–0 season in 1922, winning a share of the Big Ten title—the last for Hawkeyes football until 1956.
In 1929, the University of Southern California
was in need of a new basketball coach, and Jones—at USC since 1925—recommended his old colleague for the position. Barry followed Jones out west, and took over the USC basketball program as well as the baseball team, while also resuming his duties as an assistant football coach under Jones. Barry's Trojan teams enjoyed unprecedented successes on the USC campus, winning Pacific Coast Conference
titles in basketball in 1930, 1935 and 1940—along with eight southern division titles between 1930 and 1940—and conference crowns in baseball in 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. In 1940, the USC basketball team was widely considered to be the best in the nation, and participated in the nascent NCAA tournament
, but they lost their bid for the national title when they were upset in the national semifinal at Kansas City
, against Kansas, when the son of opposing coach, Phog Allen
, made a basket with seconds left for a one-point victory. Despite the loss, the Helms Athletic Foundation
later retroactively selected USC as the 1940 national champions.
Barry was also a valued part of the USC football teams which claimed national championships in 1931, 1932 and 1939, as well as seven Pacific Coast Conference titles and five Rose Bowl
victories. He was Jones' top assistant on the sidelines from 1929 to 1940, also serving as the team's chief scout and coach of the "Spartan" scout team. Barry was often credited by the "Headman" with devising the strategies that proved most effective in shutting down opponents. Although such titles were not used at the time, Barry's position would likely have been equivalent to that of the modern defensive coordinator
. The team's football successes included a 25-game winning streak from 1931 to 1933, and the undefeated 1938 team's 7–3 victory in the 1939 Rose Bowl
against Duke
—a team which had previously not allowed any opponent to score.
, Frank Leahy
and Clark Shaughnessy
. Injuries and illnesses also took their toll, depleting the roster at one point to a mere 28 players. Despite these roadblocks, Barry put together a team which improved offensively throughout the year, gaining popularity as the season progressed. The crowd of 86,305 at the USC-Stanford
game was the largest in the nation in 1941. And the team made some upsets, defeating Rose Bowl-bound Oregon State
, and nearly toppling 4th-ranked Notre Dame
in Notre Dame, Indiana
before falling by only two points.
In 1942, other concerns took precedence as Barry entered the Navy
for service during World War II
. He recommended Jeff Cravath
to take over his duties as USC football coach, Julie Bescos as basketball coach, and Rod Dedeaux
as baseball coach for the duration of the war. As a lieutenant commander, Barry was in charge of physical and military training of Navy personnel in the South Pacific, for which he would later receive a Naval Commendation from then Secretary of the Navy
James Forrestal
.
After leaving the Navy in 1945, Barry resumed his positions leading the USC basketball and baseball teams, while also returning as a football assistant under Cravath. He began to restore the basketball program to a nationally competitive level, and found his greatest success yet in baseball. At the 1948 College World Series
, the Trojans captured their first title by defeating a Yale team captained by future President
George Bush
. The Trojans had a chance to repeat in 1949, but were eliminated when they suffered a pair of extra-inning losses to Wake Forest
, both by 2–1 scores.
As the years passed, however, it became evident that Barry was suffering physically from the stress of his various responsibilities. Despite medical warnings, he agreed only to give up coaching the football scout team, continuing as head coach of two sports and serving as chief scout and sideline assistant in football. It was while scouting a USC opponent that he died. Attending a football game at the University of California, Berkeley
on September 23, 1950, he suffered a heart attack while climbing the hill to Memorial Stadium
in Berkeley, and died before reaching the hospital.
At USC's next home football game—fittingly, against Iowa—the student body paid tribute to Barry during halftime, taking the field in a block "SC" formation and, after the Coliseum
lights were turned out, lighting matches on the field of the darkened stadium for a minute of silence in memory of the coach. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
in Culver City
.
at UCLA
, Phil Woolpert
at San Francisco
, and Pete Newell
at California.
Sam Barry's players benefited greatly from his leadership and teaching ability. Four basketball players— Jerry Nemer, Lee Guttero
, Ralph Vaughn
and Bill Sharman
— earned consensus first-team All-American honors; Barry is one of only 12 coaches in history to guide as many players to this honor. Perhaps his most visible legacy is the large number of his players who went on to successful coaching careers in their own right: Sharman, Alex Hannum
, Tex Winter
, Jack Gardner
, Forrest Twogood and Bob Boyd in basketball, and Rod Dedeaux
in baseball. In addition, Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson
got his start in the sport while serving as a USC batboy in the 1940s. In all, 14 of Barry's baseball players went on to appear in the major leagues
.
Barry was also nationally renowned as an innovator—he was the person most responsible for the elimination of the center jump after every free throw and basket in basketball, a move which resulted in a much faster-paced game; and he was also behind the move to create the center line and 10-second rule. He was the inventor of the triangle offense
, which his pupil Tex Winter has refined to bring great recent successes to the NBA
champion Chicago Bulls
and Los Angeles Lakers
teams. And Barry, along with Kansas coach Phog Allen, was one of the two primary national advocates of the delayed offense (commonly referred to as "stalling"), which was a staple of college basketball strategy at such powerhouses as Kansas and North Carolina
, and throughout the country, before the introduction of the shot clock
in 1985.
A respected figure in basketball circles since his early years—Barry was one of the two officials who worked the 1923 Illinois high school basketball championship game—he served on many significant NCAA
committees in his later years, and was a primary force in establishing such national playoffs as the NCAA basketball tournament and the College World Series. His teams' popularity spread to the playing field and court as well. In addition to the leading crowd of the 1941 college football season
, his 1939–40 basketball team drew a record crowd when visiting Madison Square Garden
.
His accomplishments as a coach still stand today – his 40-game winning streak in basketball against UCLA, compiled from 1932 to 1942, and continued in 1946, stands as the longest winning streak by any coach against a single opponent in the history of college basketball. Only two other coaches have duplicated his achievement of leading teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series. In 1966, he became a member of the charter class of inductees to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and in 1978 he was elected to membership in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was among the 2007 class of inductees to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame
Note: Currently, school records do not credit Barry with coaching the team in 1942, which would reduce the streak to 38 games; however, newspaper reports indicate that Barry was still actively coaching the team, both in practice and in games, until after the two 1942 UCLA victories.
Coaches who have guided 4 or more players to consensus 1st-team All-American honors in men's basketball:
Coaches who have led teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series:
Note: Barry's teams won only the baseball title, while Dean's and McGuire's teams won only the basketball title; however, Dean and McGuire were not coaching both sports simultaneously in the years involved, as Barry was.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports. He remains one of only three coaches to lead teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
.
Early career
Barry was born in Aberdeen, South DakotaAberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, about 125 mi northeast of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The city population was 26,091 at the 2010 census. The American News is the local newspaper...
. After starring in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
while a high school student in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, he continued his success at Lawrence College
Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
, later completing his degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He returned to Madison High School to begin his coaching career, and then proceeded to become athletic director at Knox College in Illinois from 1918 to 1922, where he also served as coach of football, basketball, baseball and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
In 1922, Barry was named basketball coach at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, and also became a football assistant under then Hawkeyes coach Howard Jones, an association which would continue for 15 years at two universities. Barry also coached the Iowa baseball team in 1923 and 1924. He led the Hawkeye basketball team to Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
co-championships in 1923 and 1926—the first two conference titles in team history—and helped Jones guide the football squad to an undefeated 7–0 season in 1922, winning a share of the Big Ten title—the last for Hawkeyes football until 1956.
In 1929, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
was in need of a new basketball coach, and Jones—at USC since 1925—recommended his old colleague for the position. Barry followed Jones out west, and took over the USC basketball program as well as the baseball team, while also resuming his duties as an assistant football coach under Jones. Barry's Trojan teams enjoyed unprecedented successes on the USC campus, winning Pacific Coast Conference
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...
titles in basketball in 1930, 1935 and 1940—along with eight southern division titles between 1930 and 1940—and conference crowns in baseball in 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. In 1940, the USC basketball team was widely considered to be the best in the nation, and participated in the nascent NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, but they lost their bid for the national title when they were upset in the national semifinal at Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, against Kansas, when the son of opposing coach, Phog Allen
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball and baseball player, coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, and osteopathic physician...
, made a basket with seconds left for a one-point victory. Despite the loss, the Helms Athletic Foundation
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
later retroactively selected USC as the 1940 national champions.
Barry was also a valued part of the USC football teams which claimed national championships in 1931, 1932 and 1939, as well as seven Pacific Coast Conference titles and five Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
victories. He was Jones' top assistant on the sidelines from 1929 to 1940, also serving as the team's chief scout and coach of the "Spartan" scout team. Barry was often credited by the "Headman" with devising the strategies that proved most effective in shutting down opponents. Although such titles were not used at the time, Barry's position would likely have been equivalent to that of the modern defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
. The team's football successes included a 25-game winning streak from 1931 to 1933, and the undefeated 1938 team's 7–3 victory in the 1939 Rose Bowl
1939 Rose Bowl
The 1939 Rose Bowl was the 25th Rose Bowl college football game, that took place in 1939. It featured the Southern California Trojans against the Duke Blue Devils . Duke led after an early fourth quarter,...
against Duke
Duke Blue Devils football
The Duke Blue Devils football program is a college football team that represents Duke University . The team is currently a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference , which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Blue Devils compete in the Coastal...
—a team which had previously not allowed any opponent to score.
The 1940s
After Jones' sudden death in 1941, Barry was a natural choice to take over the reins of the football team, thus becoming head coach of all three major team sports simultaneously. He had not been without success as a head coach himself; his Knox College teams posted a record of 15–12–4 from 1918 to 1921, including a perfect 8–0 mark in 1919. Tthe 1941 USC football team finished with a losing record. Not only was the team mourning the loss of Jones, but Barry also found himself facing a schedule in which a majority of USC's opponents were coached by future Hall of Famers, including Paul BrownPaul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
, Frank Leahy
Frank Leahy
Francis William Leahy was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive...
and Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Daniel Shaughnessy was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation", although that system had previously been used as early as the 1880s. Shaughnessy did, however, modernize the obsolescent T formation to make it once again relevant in the...
. Injuries and illnesses also took their toll, depleting the roster at one point to a mere 28 players. Despite these roadblocks, Barry put together a team which improved offensively throughout the year, gaining popularity as the season progressed. The crowd of 86,305 at the USC-Stanford
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
game was the largest in the nation in 1941. And the team made some upsets, defeating Rose Bowl-bound Oregon State
1941 Oregon State Beavers football team
The 1941 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State College in the 1941 college football season. The Beavers ended this season with eight wins and two losses. They were the Pacific Coast Conference champions and won the 1942 Rose Bowl over Duke. Because of the Japanese attack on...
, and nearly toppling 4th-ranked Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
before falling by only two points.
In 1942, other concerns took precedence as Barry entered the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He recommended Jeff Cravath
Jeff Cravath
Newell "Jeff" Cravath was an American football coach best known as the head coach of the USC Trojans football team from 1942-1950. He compiled a 54-28-8 record while coaching at USC, and is known to have introduced the T formation to the USC program. Jeff was a nickname given to him when he was...
to take over his duties as USC football coach, Julie Bescos as basketball coach, and Rod Dedeaux
Rod Dedeaux
Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is arguably the greatest record of any coach in the sport's amateur history....
as baseball coach for the duration of the war. As a lieutenant commander, Barry was in charge of physical and military training of Navy personnel in the South Pacific, for which he would later receive a Naval Commendation from then Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
James Forrestal
James Forrestal
James Vincent Forrestal was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense....
.
After leaving the Navy in 1945, Barry resumed his positions leading the USC basketball and baseball teams, while also returning as a football assistant under Cravath. He began to restore the basketball program to a nationally competitive level, and found his greatest success yet in baseball. At the 1948 College World Series
1948 College World Series
The College World Series, the second annual NCAA championship of college baseball, was played at Hyames Field in Kalamazoo, Michigan from June 25 to June 26...
, the Trojans captured their first title by defeating a Yale team captained by future President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. The Trojans had a chance to repeat in 1949, but were eliminated when they suffered a pair of extra-inning losses to Wake Forest
Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team is the intercollegiate baseball team of Wake Forest University. The program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference...
, both by 2–1 scores.
As the years passed, however, it became evident that Barry was suffering physically from the stress of his various responsibilities. Despite medical warnings, he agreed only to give up coaching the football scout team, continuing as head coach of two sports and serving as chief scout and sideline assistant in football. It was while scouting a USC opponent that he died. Attending a football game at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
on September 23, 1950, he suffered a heart attack while climbing the hill to Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. Commonly known as Memorial Stadium, it is the home field for the University of California Golden Bears of the Pacific-12 Conference...
in Berkeley, and died before reaching the hospital.
At USC's next home football game—fittingly, against Iowa—the student body paid tribute to Barry during halftime, taking the field in a block "SC" formation and, after the Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
lights were turned out, lighting matches on the field of the darkened stadium for a minute of silence in memory of the coach. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
in Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.
Legacy
Barry's 18 seasons as a USC assistant football coach (1929–1940, 1945–1950) rank second only to the 26 years served by Marv Goux. His 19 years of overall participation in the program trail only Goux (31 years) and Cravath (23 years). His death came just as USC basketball was regaining its pre-war success, on the cusp of the West Coast's 1950s surge in the sport which included teams coached by John WoodenJohn Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, Phil Woolpert
Phil Woolpert
Phil Woolpert was an American college basketball coach. He is best known for coaching the University of San Francisco Dons to two straight national championships in 1955 and 1956....
at San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, and Pete Newell
Pete Newell
Peter Francis Newell was an American college men's basketball coach and basketball instructional coach. He coached for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State University and the University of California, Berkeley, compiling an overall record of 234 wins and 123 losses...
at California.
Sam Barry's players benefited greatly from his leadership and teaching ability. Four basketball players— Jerry Nemer, Lee Guttero
Lee Guttero
Lee A. "Rubberlegs" Guttero was an American basketball player who was the University of Southern California's first two-time NCAA All-American....
, Ralph Vaughn
Ralph Vaughn
Ralph L. Vaughn is an American former college basketball player for the Southern California Trojans. He led the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring his senior season of 1939–40 at 15.0 points per game in which he was named a Consensus First Team All-American...
and Bill Sharman
Bill Sharman
William Walton "Bill" Sharman is a former professional basketball player and coach. Sharman completed high school in the rural city of Porterville, California and is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what some consider the greatest...
— earned consensus first-team All-American honors; Barry is one of only 12 coaches in history to guide as many players to this honor. Perhaps his most visible legacy is the large number of his players who went on to successful coaching careers in their own right: Sharman, Alex Hannum
Alex Hannum
Alexander Murray Hannum was a professional basketball player and Hall-of-Fame coach.-Coaching career:Hannum is mostly known for coaching the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers of 1966-67 to the NBA championship, ending the eight-year title streak of the Boston Celtics. He had also coached the...
, Tex Winter
Tex Winter
Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter is a Hall-of-Fame American basketball coach, and innovator of the triangle offense.-Early life:...
, Jack Gardner
Jack Gardner (basketball)
-Head Coaching Record at Utah:-External links:*...
, Forrest Twogood and Bob Boyd in basketball, and Rod Dedeaux
Rod Dedeaux
Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is arguably the greatest record of any coach in the sport's amateur history....
in baseball. In addition, Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson
Sparky Anderson
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the first manager to win the World Series in both...
got his start in the sport while serving as a USC batboy in the 1940s. In all, 14 of Barry's baseball players went on to appear in the major leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
Barry was also nationally renowned as an innovator—he was the person most responsible for the elimination of the center jump after every free throw and basket in basketball, a move which resulted in a much faster-paced game; and he was also behind the move to create the center line and 10-second rule. He was the inventor of the triangle offense
Triangle offense
The Triangle Offense, also known as the triple-post offense, is an offensive strategy in basketball. Its basic ideas were initially established by Hall of Fame coach Sam Barry at the University of Southern California. His system was later refined by former Kansas State University head basketball...
, which his pupil Tex Winter has refined to bring great recent successes to the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
champion Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
and Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
teams. And Barry, along with Kansas coach Phog Allen, was one of the two primary national advocates of the delayed offense (commonly referred to as "stalling"), which was a staple of college basketball strategy at such powerhouses as Kansas and North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and throughout the country, before the introduction of the shot clock
Shot clock
A shot clock is used in some sports to quicken the pace of the game. It is normally associated with basketball, but has also found use in sports such as snooker, professional lacrosse, water polo, and korfball....
in 1985.
A respected figure in basketball circles since his early years—Barry was one of the two officials who worked the 1923 Illinois high school basketball championship game—he served on many significant NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
committees in his later years, and was a primary force in establishing such national playoffs as the NCAA basketball tournament and the College World Series. His teams' popularity spread to the playing field and court as well. In addition to the leading crowd of the 1941 college football season
1941 college football season
The 1941 college football regular season ended with the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota repeating as the AP Poll national champion. This was Minnesota's fifth national championship in eight years...
, his 1939–40 basketball team drew a record crowd when visiting Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
His accomplishments as a coach still stand today – his 40-game winning streak in basketball against UCLA, compiled from 1932 to 1942, and continued in 1946, stands as the longest winning streak by any coach against a single opponent in the history of college basketball. Only two other coaches have duplicated his achievement of leading teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series. In 1966, he became a member of the charter class of inductees to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and in 1978 he was elected to membership in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was among the 2007 class of inductees to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame
Accolades
- "His successes as a basketball, baseball and football coach would fill several books but it can be safely said that when Sam died suddenly ... he left not one enemy along the trail of his phenomenal career. ... In the years to come, Sam Barry will be talked about in the same breath with Dr. NaismithJames NaismithThe first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
when the development and progress of the game of basketball are discussed." – Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, September 25, 1950
- "I feel that the Pacific Coast Conference has lost one of its finest coaches and I feel a great personal loss. He was one of the scrappiest coaches during a game and one of the nicest persons I've ever known after the game. He was a fine fellow in every respect." – John WoodenJohn WoodenJohn Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
- "It is impossible to pinpoint Sam Barry's friendliness, his effect upon all groups. Sam was a man who loved his fellow men, loved life, loved living. He leaves a big hole, not only in the Trojan family, not only on the West Coast, but on the entire national scene. Sam Barry was a leader, the finest type of American citizen. Never having done a mean or injurious thing in his life, it is certain his soul rests in peace." – Dick Hyland, Los Angeles Times, September 26, 1950
- "About the University Sam was affectionately known as 'Elevator Sam'. That was because he had more 'life' on the bench than gridders and coaches alike. He was up every time the ball bounced. Sam got a full measure out of living and fellowship. And whereas in this day of specialists most mentors confine activities to one sport, Sam lived three full, and complete, lifetimes in sports. And, exceptionally, Sam was tops in all three. He was considered second to none in basketball. He coached numerous champions. His baseball teams were frequent titleholders." – Al Santoro, Los Angeles Examiner, September 24, 1950
- "For 34 of his 57 years the genial coach, whose name ranked with the StaggsAmos Alonzo StaggAmos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
, WarnersGlenn Scobey WarnerGlenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
and JonesesHoward Jones (football coach)Howard Harding Jones was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Syracuse University , Yale University , Ohio State University , the University of Iowa , Duke University , and the University of Southern California , compiling a career record of...
as bywords of the intercollegiate sports world, had engaged in one of athletics' most successful careers. ... Barry is the man most responsible for basketball as it is played today, a game that leads the nation in attendance." – Jack Geyer, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1950
Records and accomplishments
Longest winning streaks by a coach against a single opponent, college basketball:- 40 – Sam Barry (USC) vs. UCLA, 1932–1942 and 1946
- 38 – Lute OlsonLute OlsonRobert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
(ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
) vs Washington StateWashington State UniversityWashington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, 1986–2004 - 37 – Adolph RuppAdolph RuppAdolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
(KentuckyUniversity of KentuckyThe University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
) vs. MississippiUniversity of MississippiThe University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, 1933–1972 - 32 – John WoodenJohn WoodenJohn Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
(UCLA) vs. California, 1961–1975 - 31 – Frank KeaneyFrank KeaneyFrank W. Keaney was a college men's basketball coach and known as the architect of modern "run-and-shoot" basketball....
(Rhode IslandUniversity of Rhode IslandThe University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
) vs. MaineUniversity of MaineThe University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
, 1924–1948 - 31 – Bob KnightBobby Knight-Indiana:When Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale....
(IndianaIndiana University BloomingtonIndiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
) vs. Wisconsin, 1980–1996
Note: Currently, school records do not credit Barry with coaching the team in 1942, which would reduce the streak to 38 games; however, newspaper reports indicate that Barry was still actively coaching the team, both in practice and in games, until after the two 1942 UCLA victories.
Coaches who have guided 4 or more players to consensus 1st-team All-American honors in men's basketball:
- Adolph RuppAdolph RuppAdolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
(Kentucky) – 10 - Dean SmithDean SmithDean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
(North Carolina) – 9 - Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) – 8
- John WoodenJohn WoodenJohn Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
(UCLA) – 8 - Bob Knight (Indiana) – 6
- Ward "Piggy" Lambert (PurduePurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
) – 5 - Lute OlsonLute OlsonRobert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
(ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
) – 5 - John ThompsonJohn Thompson (basketball)John R. Thompson, Jr. is an American former basketball coach for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He is now a professional radio and TV sports commentator...
(GeorgetownGeorgetown HoyasGeorgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Various breeds of dogs have been used by the sports teams as mascots since the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers like Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya" were used at football games in the 1920s, as was a Great Dane in the...
) – 5 - Forrest "Phog" AllenPhog AllenForrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball and baseball player, coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, and osteopathic physician...
(Kansas) – 4 - Sam Barry (USC) – 4
- Jim CalhounJim CalhounJames A. Calhoun is the head coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. His teams have won three national championships , played in four Final Fours , won the 1988 NIT championship, and have won seven Big East tournament championships...
(ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
) – 4 - Roy WilliamsRoy Williams (coach)Roy Williams is head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina. After averaging nearly an 80% win percentage in 15 seasons at the University of Kansas, he became the eighteenth head coach at North Carolina when he replaced Matt Doherty in 2003...
(Kansas) – 4
Coaches who have led teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series:
- Sam Barry (USC) – Final Four in 1940; CWS in 1948 and 1949
- Everett DeanEverett DeanEverett S. Dean was a college men's basketball and baseball coach.Born in Livonia, Indiana, Dean was the head baseball and basketball coach at his alma mater, Indiana University, from 1924 to 1938. In 1938, Dean was named head basketball coach at Stanford University, where he coached the team to...
(Stanford) – Final Four in 1942; CWS in 1953 - Frank McGuireFrank McGuireFrank Joseph McGuire was an American athletic coach who gained his greatest renown in collegiate basketball....
(St. John's, North Carolina) – Final Four in 1952 (St. John's, runner-up) and 1957 (UNC, champions); CWS in 1949 (St. John's)
Note: Barry's teams won only the baseball title, while Dean's and McGuire's teams won only the basketball title; however, Dean and McGuire were not coaching both sports simultaneously in the years involved, as Barry was.