Not to be confused with husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: MHP S&P 500 Component
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1917
Headquarters	1221 Avenue of the Americas New York City, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Harold W. McGraw III (Chairman, President and CEO)
Revenue	US$ 6.168 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income	US$ 1.421 billion (2010)[1]
Net income	US$ 828.1 million (2010)[1]
Total assets	US$ 7.047 billion (2010)[1]
Total equity	US$ 2.291 billion (2010)[1]
Employees	20,755 (December 2010)[1]
Subsidiaries	Standard & Poor's J.D. Power and Associates Platts Aviation Week McGraw-Hill Construction McGraw-Hill Education
Website	McGraw-Hill.com

1221 Avenue of the Americas, the headquarters of McGraw-Hill

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., (NYSE: MHP) is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, and business services. It publishes numerous textbooks and magazines, including Architectural Record and Aviation Week, and is the parent company of Standard & Poor's, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. It is the majority owner of the Canadian publisher McGraw-Hill Ryerson (TSX). The company has its corporate headquarters in 1221 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.^[2]

Corporate history[link]

The McGraw-Hill Companies traces its history back to 1888 when James H. McGraw, co-founder of the company, purchased the American Journal of Railway Appliances. He continued to add further publications, eventually establishing The McGraw Publishing Company in 1899. His co-founder, John A. Hill, had also produced several technical and trade publications and in 1902 formed his own business, The Hill Publishing Company.

In 1909 both men, having known each others interests, agreed upon an alliance and combined the book departments of their publishing companies into The McGraw-Hill Book Company. John Hill served as President, with James McGraw as Vice-President. 1917 saw the merger of the remaining parts of each business into The McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc.^[3] In 1986, McGraw-Hill bought out competitor The Economy Company, then the nation's largest publisher of educational material. The buyout made McGraw-Hill the largest educational publisher in the U.S.^[4]

McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc became The McGraw-Hill Companies in 1995, as part of a corporate identity rebranding.^{[5][not in citation given]}

In a recent strategy move (2007), McGraw-Hill launched an online student study network, GradeGuru.com. This new offering gives McGraw-Hill an opportunity to connect directly with its end users, the students.

On October 3, 2011, McGraw-Hill announced it was selling its entire television station group to The E.W. Scripps Company for $212 million.^[6] The sale was completed on December 30, 2011. It had been involved in broadcasting since 1972, when it purchased four television stations from a division of Time Inc.

Corporate organization[link]

The McGraw-Hill Companies organizes its businesses around three segments, based upon the market they are involved in.

Education[link]

McGraw-Hill Education is a content, software and services-based education company that offers solutions for PreK through postgraduate education. The company also provides reference & trade publications for the medical, business and engineering professions.^[7]

Divisions of McGraw-Hill Education include:

• McGraw-Hill School Education
• McGraw-Hill Higher Education
• CTB/McGraw-Hill
• McGraw-Hill Professional
• McGraw-Hill International

McGraw-Hill Education is also established in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America (as McGraw-Hill Interamericana), Canada (as McGraw Hill Ryerson) and India (as Tata/McGraw-Hill).

Responding to the growing demand for technology in today’s K-12 and college classrooms, McGraw-Hill Education began shifting from a print-based business model to one that relies on digital products sold through subscriptions and other services in the late 2000s. This shift has accelerated in recent years with an increased focus on developing adaptive learning systems that enable classroom teaching to come closer to a one-to-one student-teacher interaction. These systems achieve personalized student learning by assessing each student's skill level and using data to determine how each can progress through lessons most effectively. The company’s two flagship adaptive learning products are the Power of U [1], for middle school math students, and LearnSmart [2], for the higher education market.

Financial services[link]

This division, Standard & Poor's, provides independent investment research including ratings on various investment instruments, as well as various indices that gauge financial markets, such as the widely tracked S&P 500.

Information and media[link]

• Platts
• Aviation Week Group
• J.D. Power and Associates
• McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of the McGraw-Hill companies, is a publisher of construction information in the United States and Canada. It publishes Architectural Record, GreenSource, Dodge, Engineering News-Record (ENR), Sweets and McGraw-Hill Construction Regionals.

Presidents of the company[link]

• James H. McGraw (1917 – 1928)
• Johnathan Heflin (1928 – 1948)
• James McGraw, Jr. (1948 – 1950)
• Curtis W. McGraw (1950 – 1953)
• Donald C. McGraw (1953 – 1968)
• Shelton Fisher (1968 – 1974)
• Harold McGraw, Jr. (1974 – 1983)
• Joseph Dionne (1983 – 1998)
• Harold W. McGraw III (1998 – present)

Acquisitions[link]

During the course of its history, the McGraw-Hill Companies has expanded significantly through acquisition, not just within the publishing industry but also into other areas such as financial services (the purchase of Standard & Poor's in 1966) and broadcasting (the 1972 acquisition of Time-Life Broadcasting).

Note that this list only includes acquisitions made by McGraw-Hill, not its subsidiaries. McGraw-Hill typically does not release financial information regarding its acquisitions or divestitures.

Partnerships[link]

McGraw-Hill has partnered with five other higher-education publishers to create CourseSmart, a company developed to sell college textbooks in eTextbook format on a common platform.^[16]

The McGraw-Hill Building[link]

• The McGraw-Hill Building in New York City has received prominent attention. In April 2008, surveillance camera footage was released of Nicholas White, a production manager for BusinessWeek (then published by McGraw-Hill) who was trapped in the building's elevator for 41 hours in October 1999.^[17]

Connection to the family of George W. Bush[link]

The families of the McGraws and President Bush have a long relationship. No Child Left Behind was highly profitable to McGraw-Hill and the implication is that federal education policy was influenced by the familiar relationship. ^[18] According to McGraw-Hill, Barbara Bush is a member of their advisory board. ^[19]

McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union[link]

[3] McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union was established in 1935, originally to serve employees of the McGraw-Hill Companies in New York City only. The credit union moved from its location inside the McGraw-Hill building to its current location in East Windsor, New Jersey in 2005. Its accounts are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.

It provides savings, checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, IRAs, credit cards, auto loans, and home mortgages.

Awards[link]

In 1999, the National Building Museum presented the McGraw-Hill Companies with its annual Honor Award for the corporation's contributions to the built environment. ^[20]

References[link]

• "Platts History". Retrieved April 30, 2010

External links[link]

	New York City portal
	Companies portal

• Official website
• Transcripts of The McGraw-Hill Companies' Quarterly Conference Calls
• Digital Engineering Library (Book List at 29Dec07 Book List at 25Feb08)
• Platts Energy, Metals & Petrochemicals Data
• McGraw-Hill Construction

Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw performing for the United States Air Force in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Samuel Timothy McGraw
Born	(1967-05-01) May 1, 1967 (age 45) Delhi, Louisiana, U.S.
Origin	Start, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Musician, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Curb Big Machine
Associated acts	Faith Hill, The Dancehall Doctors, Nelly, Taylor Swift, Def Leppard, Mindy McCready, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lionel Richie
Website	timmcgraw.com

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the Soundscan era.^[1] He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw.

McGraw had 11 consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts. Twenty-one singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and 3 People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music.^[2]

McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock), Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, and Four Christmases (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), and lead roles in Flicka (2006) and Country Strong (2010). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats. Taylor Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw", refers to him and his song, "Can't Tell Me Nothin'".^[3]

In acknowledgement of his grandfather's Italian heritage, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 2004, receiving the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Music during the Foundation's 29th Anniversary Gala.

Early life[link]

McGraw was born Samuel Timothy McGraw in Delhi, Louisiana, to Elizabeth "Betty" Ann D'Agostino, a waitress, and Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr., who later became a relief pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. McGraw is of Italian and some Irish descent on his mother's side, and of Scots-Irish and distant German descent on his father's side.^[4][5] In 1966, Tug was a pitcher for the Jacksonville Suns, and he lived in an apartment above Betty D'Agostino, who attended Terry Parker High School. The pair had a relationship, and when Betty became pregnant, her parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives and to have the baby.^[6]

Start, Louisiana, welcome sign notes that McGraw once resided there.

Reared by his mother in Start, also in Richland Parish, east of Monroe, McGraw grew up believing his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his father. From the time of his mother's marriage until the time he met his biological father, his last name was Smith. At age 11, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching his mother's closet to find pictures for a school project. After his discovery, his mother revealed that his biological father was Tug McGraw, and took Tim to meet him for the first time.^[5] For seven years, Tug denied being Tim's father. Tim was 18 years old when Tug first realized how much Tim looked like him at that age, and he acknowledged paternity. They remained close until Tug's death in 2004.

As a child, McGraw loved to play competitive sports, including baseball, even though he did not know his natural father was a professional athlete.^[5] He attended Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe, on a baseball scholarship,^[7] and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.^[8] During his college period, he learned to play guitar, and would frequently perform and sing for tips, although he claims that his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad.

His mother, Betty, returned to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987, and McGraw followed. He attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands.^[6] In 1989, on the day his hero Keith Whitley died,^[7] McGraw dropped out of college to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career.^[5]

1990s[link]

[edit] Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records in 1990. After cutting a demo single, McGraw gave a copy to his father, Tug McGraw. A man who was friends with Curb Records executives heard the demo while driving with Tug McGraw one day and recommended that Curb contact the young singer. Several weeks later, he was able to play his tape for Curb executives, after which they signed him to a recording contract.^[5] Two years later, in 1992, he had his first minor hit with "Welcome to the Club" off his self-titled debut album. Although the album failed to make much of a dent on the charts, McGraw did have two other minor hits from it in 1993: "Memory Lane" and "Two Steppin Mind".^[7]

[edit] Not a Moment Too Soon

His second album, Not a Moment Too Soon, was much more successful, becoming the best-selling country album in 1994. The first single, "Indian Outlaw", caused considerable controversy, as critics argued that it presented Native Americans in a patronizing way.^[7] Some radio stations refused to play it,^[9] but the controversy helped spur sales, and the song became McGraw's first top-ten country single (getting as high as No. 8), and reaching No. 15 on the pop chart.^[10]

The second single from the album, "Don't Take the Girl", became McGraw's first No. 1 country hit, and "helped cement his image as a ruggedly good-looking guy with a sensitive side".^[9] The following year, the album's title track became a No. 1 country single, while "Down on the Farm" reached No. 2, and "Refried Dreams" reached the top 5. The album sold over 6 million copies, topping the Billboard 200 as well as the country album charts.^[7] On the strength of this success, McGraw won Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist in 1994.^[11]

[edit] All I Want

All I Want, released in 1995, continued his run of success, debuting at No. 1 on the country charts. The album sold over 2 million copies and reached the top 5 on the Billboard 200. "I Like It, I Love It" reached No. 1 on the country charts as the lead-off single, while "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart" also went to No. 1 in 1996. "Can't Be Really Gone", "All I Want Is a Life", and "Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It" were all top 5 hits.^[7]

In 1996, McGraw headlined the most successful country tour of the year, The Spontaneous Combustion Tour, with Faith Hill as his supporting act. Faith Hill broke off her engagement to her former producer Scott Hendricks so that she and McGraw could start dating each other; they then married on October 6, 1996. The couple have since had three daughters: Gracie Katherine (born May 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (born August 1998), and Audrey Caroline (born December 2001).^[12]

[edit] Everywhere

McGraw's next album, 1997's Everywhere, again topped the country charts and reached No. 2 on the album charts, selling 4 million copies.^[7] Four singles ("It's Your Love", "Everywhere", "Where the Green Grass Grows", and "Just to See You Smile") reached the top of the country charts from the album, with the last of these setting a new record by spending 42 weeks on the Billboard charts.^[13] The Country Music Association awarded Everywhere its Album of the Year award for 1997.

[edit] A Place in the Sun

A Place in the Sun in 1999 continued McGraw's streak, debuting atop both the US pop and country album charts^[11] and selling 3 million albums. It featured another four chart-topping singles on the country charts including "Please Remember Me", "Something Like That", "My Best Friend", and "My Next Thirty Years". "Some Things Never Change" reached No. 7 on the country chart.^[7] He also contributed a song for the Grammy-winning tribute album to Bob Wills: Ride With Bob. His song, a cover of "Milk Cow Blues", was recorded as a duet with Asleep at the Wheel, whom he had met while performing together at the George Strait Country Music Festival.^[11]

McGraw recorded two more duets with his wife in the late 1990s, both of which appeared on her albums. "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me", off of her multi-platinum 1998 album Faith, reached the top five of the US country charts,^[7] while her follow-up and 1999 album Breathe featured "Let's Make Love", which would win a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.^[11]

2000s[link]

[edit] Greatest Hits

In 2000, McGraw released his Greatest Hits album, which topped the charts for nine weeks and sold almost 6 million copies, making it one of the biggest-selling albums in the modern country market. In the latter half of the year, he and Hill went out on the Soul2Soul Tour, playing to sellout crowds in 64 venues, including Madison Square Garden. It was one of the top tours of any genre in the US, and the leading country tour during 2000.^[13]

While in Buffalo, New York, McGraw and Kenny Chesney became involved in a scuffle with police officers after Chesney attempted to ride a police horse. McGraw came to Chesney's aid after police officers nearby believed the horse was being stolen and tried to arrest him. The two were arrested and charged with assault, but were later cleared. During a concert with the George Strait Country Music Festival several weeks later, Hill, dressed as a police officer, made an unscheduled appearance at the end of McGraw's set and led him off the stage.^[14]

[edit] Set This Circus Down

McGraw's next album, Set This Circus Down, was released in April 2001, and spawned four number-one country hits: "Grown Men Don't Cry", "Angry All the Time" (with Faith Hill), "The Cowboy in Me", and "Unbroken". He provided harmony vocals for the Jo Dee Messina song "Bring On the Rain", which he also produced. The song topped the country charts.^[11]

Hungry for more of his music, fans downloaded a version of his performance of the song "Things Change" from his appearance at the Country Music Association Awards Show. The song was played extensively on radio, becoming the first country song to appear on the charts from a fully downloaded version.^[13]

[edit] Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors

In 2002, McGraw bucked country music traditions by recording his album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors with his tour band The Dancehall Doctors. Unlike rock music, where it is commonplace for touring bands to provide the music on albums recorded by the artist they support, country albums are typically recorded with session musicians.^[15] McGraw chose to use his own touring band, in order to recognize their part in his success, and to capture some of the feel of a real band.^[13]

All of the Dancehall Doctors have worked with McGraw since at least 1996. They include:

• Darran Smith – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
• Bob Minner – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin
• Denny Hemingson – steel guitar, electric, baritone, and slide guitars, dobro
• John Marcus – bass guitar
• Dean Brown – fiddle, mandolin
• Jeff McMahon – piano, organ, synthesizer, keyboards
• Billy Mason – drums
• David Dunkley – percussion^[13]

The album debuted at No. 2 on the country albums charts,^[5] with the single "Real Good Man" reaching No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. "She's My Kind of Rain" reached No. 2 in 2003, and "Red Ragtop" reached the top 5. The album also featured a cover version of Elton John's early 1970s classic "Tiny Dancer", as well as appearances by Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me" (a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks) and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on "Illegal".

[edit] Live Like You Were Dying

2004's Live Like You Were Dying continued McGraw's record of commercial success. The title track, dedicated to his father Tug McGraw, who died of a brain tumor earlier in the year, was a soaring ode to living life fully and in the moment,^[16] while the second single "Back When" was a paean to an easy nostalgia. Live Like You Were Dying spent seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard (10 weeks on Radio & Records), and went on to become the biggest hit single of the year. It also became one of the most awarded songs/records by winning ACM Single and Song of the Year, CMA Single and Song of the Year, and a Grammy.

In late 2004, his unlikely duet with hip-hop artist Nelly on "Over and Over", a soft ballad of lost love, became a crossover hit,^[17] spending 10 weeks atop the Top 40 chart. "Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never previously experienced on contemporary hit radio or rap radio, and brought both artists success neither had previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary market. The song also spent a week at the top of the charts in the United Kingdom, becoming McGraw's first British hit single and Nelly's third number one hit in the country after Dilemma and My Place. 'Over and Over' also reached the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland, and the top ten in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Romania and Switzerland.

Throughout the 2005 NFL season, McGraw sang an alternate version of "I Like It, I Love It" every week during the season. The alternate lyrics, which changed each week, would make reference to plays during Sunday's games, and the song would be played alongside video highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football.^[18] Later in the year, McGraw became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats when majority owner Bud Adams (owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans) was awarded the expansion franchise.^[19]

[edit] Let It Go

In April 2006, McGraw and Hill began their 73-concert 55-city Soul2Soul II Tour, again to strong commercial acceptance. The tour grossed nearly $89 million and sold almost 1.1 million tickets, making it the top grossing tour in the history of country music.^[20] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar Magazine, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.^[21]

McGraw, along with Kenny Chesney, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album For the Love. Although the official single version features only Lawrence's vocals, many stations have opted to play the version with McGraw and Chesney instead.

McGraw released his eleventh album, Let It Go, on March 27, 2007. The album's debut single, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)", reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, marking McGraw's first No. 1 single since "Back When" in late 2004. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart, marking his fourth No. 1 top 200 album and ninth No. 1 country album.^[22] His daughters can be heard singing the chorus during the last few seconds of the song on the video.

During the Academy of Country Music awards show on May 21, 2007, McGraw performed a song titled "If You're Reading This", which he co-wrote with The Warren Brothers.^[23] Several radio stations began to play the live recording of the song; as a result, it entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 35.^[24]

McGraw also produced the debut album of country music duo Halfway to Hazard. The duo's first single, "Daisy", peaked at No. 39 on the country charts in the summer of 2007.

In the summer of 2007, McGraw and Hill toured together once again in the Soul2Soul 2007 tour.

In the January 18, 2008 edition of the USA Today newspaper, McGraw was stated to be featured on the Def Leppard album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, having also co-written the first single, "Nine Lives", with Def Leppard band members Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage. The unusual pairing goes back to 2006 when McGraw joined Def Leppard onstage for the song "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and then collaborated on the song "Nine Lives" afterward. The album was released on April 25, 2008.

In May 2008, he hit the road with the Live Your Voice tour. The mainly-outdoor arena concert tour was his first solo outing in nearly three years. Also in May 2008, he debuted a new song off of his follow-up to Let It Go at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California.

In July 2008, McGraw's sixth single, and the title track of his album, "Let It Go", was released to country radio. Following that, a seventh single, "Nothin' to Die For", entered the Country charts at No. 57 in late December. McGraw released his third greatest-hits package, Greatest Hits 3 on October 7, 2008. The album features 12 tracks. McGraw was set to debut a new song on the 2009 ACM Awards, but then cancelled his performance; he was replaced by Blake Shelton, who sang "She Wouldn't Be Gone".

[edit] Southern Voice

McGraw's twelfth studio album, Southern Voice, was released October 20, 2009, and led by the single "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You", which was shipped to radio outlets in late June 2009.^[25] Southern Voice was argued to be McGraw's last album for Curb Records, following the dispute over releasing his third Greatest Hits collection back in October 2008 without his permission. McGraw did not approve of the release. On November 30, 2010, Curb Records released his fourth greatest hits compilation, Number One Hits.

2010s[link]

[edit] Emotional Traffic and Curb Records lawsuit

On January 2, 2011, McGraw announced plans for his Emotional Traffic Tour featuring opening acts Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.^[26] Sirius XM announced on March 30, 2011 that they would be launching Tim McGraw radio, a commercial-free music channel devoted to McGraw's music, and featuring an in depth interview with McGraw as well.^[27]

McGraw has also finished work on a new album, also entitled Emotional Traffic, his last album with Curb Records.^[28] On May 13, 2011, Curb Records filed a breach-of-contract suit against McGraw.^[29] The label alleged that McGraw recorded tracks for his Emotional Traffic album too early prior to its delivery to the label.^[29] Several days later, McGraw filed a counter suit against the label seeking advance payment and recording-fund reimbursement, unspecified damages, and a jury trial.^[30] A trial is scheduled to begin in July 2012.^[31][32]

In November 2011, a judge granted McGraw permission to record music for another label, ending his relationship with Curb Records that began in 1990.^[31][32] A few hours after the ruling, Curb released "Better Than I Used to Be", the second single from Emotional Traffic.^[33][34] The album was released on January 24, 2012.^[34]

In December 2011, McGraw released his first Christmas single, "Christmas All Over the World", on his own label StyleSonic records. He is also said to be recording his debut album for the label. On May 21, 2012, he signed with Big Machine Records.^[35]

Acting[link]

McGraw's first acting appearance came in a 1995 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy's rival.

In 2004, McGraw played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received critical acclaim as the overbearing father of a running back in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw".^[36] The movie went on to gross over $60 million dollars worldwide at the box office,^[37] and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently, it was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (No. 37) by Entertainment Weekly.

McGraw's first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theaters October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book My Friend Flicka, McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over $25 million at the box office.^[38] McGraw again achieved critical acclaim for his acting.^[39][40]

Shortly before Flicka opened, McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. near stars in the sidewalk honoring Julie Andrews, William Shatner, and the late Greta Garbo. One of his Flicka co-stars, Alison Lohman, attended the ceremony that included comments from Billy Bob Thornton, McGraw's co-star in the film Friday Night Lights.^[41]

In addition to acting in Flicka, McGraw served as executive producer of the soundtrack album, which was released by his record label, StyleSonic Records, in association with Curb Records and Fox 2000 films. It featured the closing credit song "My Little Girl", one of the first two songs that McGraw recorded that he also co-wrote (the other being "I've Got Friends That Do", both of which were included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2).^[42] The song was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for "Best Song" in a film, and the movie was nominated in the category "Best Family Film (Live Action)". The movie proved to be another success in the DVD market, and has sold over a million copies, debuting at No. 3 on the DVD sales chart.^[38]

McGraw also had a small part in the Michael Mann–produced 2007 film The Kingdom, reuniting him with Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg. McGraw played a bitter, angered widower whose wife was killed in the terrorist attack that is the centerpiece of the movie.

On November 22, 2008, McGraw made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live. He also played "Dallas McVie" in Four Christmases.

His house appeared in an episode of CSI with special guest Taylor Swift.

McGraw appeared in the 2009 film The Blind Side as Sean Tuohy, husband of Sandra Bullock’s character, Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in and adopted by the Tuohys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. In addition to his appearance in the film, McGraw's hit song "Southern Voice" was played during the closing credits of the film.

He is among the stars of Dirty Girl, a film that premiered on September 12, 2010, at the Toronto Film Festival, along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy and Dwight Yoakam.

Also in 2010, McGraw starred in Country Strong as James Canter, the husband and manager of the fictional country singer Kelly Canter (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow).^[43]

Charitable efforts[link]

As his success has grown, McGraw has become increasingly interested in giving back to the community. When McGraw first reached fame in 1994, he established his annual Swampstock event. It began as a charity softball game to raise money for hometown little league programs; the event now includes a celebrity softball game and a multi-artist concert that attracts over 11,000 fans per year. The combined events have funded new Little League parks and equipment, and have established college scholarship funds for students in the northeast Louisiana area.^[44]

From 1996 to 1999, McGraw hosted an annual New Year's Eve concert in Nashville with special guests including Jeff Foxworthy, the Dixie Chicks, and Martina McBride. The 1997 show raised over $100,000 for the Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning in 1999, McGraw would pick select cities on each tour, and the night before he was scheduled to perform, would choose a local club and host a quickly-organized show. This tour-within-a-tour became known as "The Bread and Water Tour", and all proceeds from the show would go to a charity from that community.^[44]

In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, McGraw and his wife, who was raised in Mississippi, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.^[45] Later in the year, the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services, in the event of a natural disaster, or for desperate personal circumstances.

McGraw is also a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, to which various celebrities donate their time, skills, and fame, to help the Red Cross highlight important initiatives and response efforts.^[46]

McGraw has helped out with charity events held by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. The Brett Favre Fourward Foundation has featured McGraw (and at other times Faith Hill) performing concerts during dinners and auctions that benefit children with disabilities in Wisconsin and Mississippi. One instance is recorded on Favre's official website.^[47]

On July 12, 2007, it was made public that McGraw and his wife Faith Hill, while in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a performance, donated $5000 to Kailey Kozminski, 3-year-old daughter of Officer Robert Kozminski, a Grand Rapids police officer who was killed on July 8, 2007 while responding to a domestic disturbance.^[48]

In June 2010, McGraw and his wife Faith Hill organized Nashville Rising, a benefit concert aimed to raise $2 million for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in response to the flood in early May that killed 22 people and caused $2 billion in damage.^[49]

Politics[link]

Tim McGraw poses for a sailor at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on May 5, 2010, before performing at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass military appreciation day.

McGraw, a Democrat, has stated that he would like to run for public office in the future, possibly for Senate or Governor of Tennessee, his home state.^[50][51] In the same interview, he praised former President Bill Clinton.^[51] He has referred to himself as a "Blue Dog Democrat" and stated that he supported presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.^[52]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Tim McGraw (1993)
• Not a Moment Too Soon (1994)
• All I Want (1995)
• Everywhere (1997)
• A Place in the Sun (1999)
• Set This Circus Down (2001)
• Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors (2002)
• Live Like You Were Dying (2004)
• Let It Go (2007)
• Southern Voice (2009)
• Emotional Traffic (2012)

Compilation albums[link]

• Greatest Hits (2000)
• Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (2006)
• Greatest Hits: Limited Edition (2008)
• Collector's Edition (2008)
• Greatest Hits 3 (2008)
• Limited Edition: Greatest Hits: Volumes 1, 2 & 3 (2008)
• Number One Hits (2010)

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

^[53]

Further reading[link]

• Brown, Jim; Sparrow, Susan. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw: Soul 2 Soul. Quarry Music Books, 2002. ISBN 1-55082-293-4
• Gray, Scott. Perfect Harmony: the Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Story. 1st ed. Ballantine Books, 1999. ISBN 0-345-43412-9
• McGraw, Tim. Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors: This is Ours. Atria Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7434-6706-X
• Nichols, Tim, and Craig Wiseman. Live Like You Were Dying. Rutledge Hill P, 2004. ISBN 1-4016-0212-6
• Trimble, Betty "McMom". A Mother's Story. D'Agostino/Dahlhauser/Ditmore Pub, 1996. ISBN 1-886371-32-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim McGraw

• Official website
• Tim McGraw at Allmusic
• Tim McGraw at Country Music Television
• Tim McGraw at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim McGraw at People.com

John Wooden
John Wooden circa 1972.
Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	(1910-10-14)October 14, 1910 Hall, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2010(2010-06-04) (aged 99) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Playing career
1929–33	Purdue
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1946–48 1948–75	Indiana State UCLA
Head coaching record
Overall	664–162 (.804)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships As player: *1932 National Championship As coach: *1964 NCAA National Championship *1965 NCAA National Championship *1967 NCAA National Championship *1968 NCAA National Championship *1969 NCAA National Championship *1970 NCAA National Championship *1971 NCAA National Championship *1972 NCAA National Championship *1973 NCAA National Championship *1975 NCAA National Championship Regional Championships – Final Four (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
Awards 2006 founding class, College Basketball Hall of Fame 1972 National Basketball Hall of Fame as a Coach 6 time NCAA College Basketball Coach of the Year 1930 Basketball All-American 1931 Basketball All-American 1932 Basketball All-American 1932 College Basketball Player of the Year 1933 National Basketball League – Scoring Champion 1938 National Basketball League – First Team 1960 National Basketball Hall of Fame as a Player 1964 Henry Iba Award Coach of the Year Presidential Medal of Freedom
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1961
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) 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^[1]—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat.^[2][3] Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games.^[1] He was named national coach of the year six times.

As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories. Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.^[4]

He was one of the most revered coaches^[1] and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.^[1]

Early life and playing career[link]

Born in 1910 in the town of Hall, Indiana,^[5] Wooden moved with his family to a small farm in Centerton in 1918.^[6] As a boy one of his role models was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five, a legendary basketball team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to the town of Martinsville when he was 14,^[7] he led the high school team to the state championship finals for three consecutive years,^{[2][8][9][10]} winning the tournament in 1927.^[9] He was a three time All-State selection.^[2]

After graduating in 1928, he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert. He helped lead the Boilermakers to the 1932 National Championship, as determined by a panel vote rather than the NCAA tournament, which did not begin until 1939.^[11] John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue, and he was the first player ever to be named a three-time consensus All-American.^[12] He was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.^[13] Wooden is also an honorary member of the International Co-Ed Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.^[14] Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt.^[12] He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English.^[3]

After college, Wooden spent several years playing professionally with the Indianapolis Kautskys^[15][16] (later the Indianapolis Jets), Whiting Ciesar All-Americans,^[16] and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans^[16] while teaching and coaching in the high school ranks.^[16] During one 46-game stretch he made 134 consecutive free throws.^[15] He was named to the NBL's First Team for the 1937–38 season.

In 1942, during World War II, he joined the Navy. He served for nearly three years and left the service as a lieutenant.^[3]

In 1961, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Wooden was born to Roxie Anna and Joshua Hugh Wooden.^[18] He had three brothers:^[3] Maurice, Daniel, and William.^[18] He had two sisters, one of whom died in infancy and was unnamed^[18] and another, Cordelia, who died from diphtheria at age 2.^[18]

Wooden met his future wife, Nellie (Nell) Riley, at a carnival in July 1926.^[19] They married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932 and afterward attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate.^[20] John and his wife had a son, James Hugh Wooden, and a daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen.^[2] Nellie died on March 21, 1985^[2] from cancer.^[21]

Wooden remained devoted to Nellie until his own death decades after hers. He kept to a monthly ritual — health permitting — on the 21st of every month, when he would visit her grave then write a love letter to her. After completing each letter, he placed it in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.^[22] Wooden only stopped writing the letters in the last months of his life due to failing eyesight.^[23]

In mourning Nellie's death, Wooden was comforted by his faith.^[24] He was a devout Christian, considering his beliefs more important to him than basketball: "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. 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."^[25] Wooden's faith strongly influenced his life. He read the Bible daily and attended the First Christian Church.^[24] He said that he hoped his faith was apparent to others: "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."^[26]

Coaching career[link]

High school[link]

Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Kentucky. His first year at Dayton marked the only time he had a losing record (6–11) as a coach.^[27] After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, teaching English and coaching basketball at South Bend Central High School^[28] until entering the Armed Forces.^[29] His high school coaching record over 11 years, two at Dayton and nine at Central, was 218–42.^[2]

Indiana State University[link]

After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State Teacher's College (now Indiana State University) in Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1946 to 1948,^[3] succeeding his high school coach, Glenn Curtis.^[30] In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director,^[2][3] all while teaching and completing his master's degree in Education.^[30][31] In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning African American players.^[30][32] One of Wooden's players was Clarence Walker, an African-American from East Chicago, Indiana.^[30]

That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University wanted him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired. Then, at that time, Wooden would take over the program. Citing his loyalty to Taube, Wooden declined, as this would have effectively made Taube a lame-duck coach.

In 1948, Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title. The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African-American players that year,^[33] and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville. This was the only championship game a Wooden-coached team ever lost. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament.^[33] John Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame on February 3, 1984.^[34]

On Nov 8, 2008; Indiana State officially named the floor at Hulman Center The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946-47 and 1947-48 teams. ^[35] The Sycamores christened the newly-named floor by defeating the Albion College (MI) Britons in an exhibition game.

UCLA[link]

John Wooden in 1960.

In 1948 Wooden became the head coach at UCLA, signing a three year contract. Prior to being hired at UCLA he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota, and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest. But inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins instead. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had given his word to the Bruins.^[3][36]

Wooden had immediate success, fashioning an "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. In 1948, he took a UCLA team that had a 12–13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division Champion with a 22–7 record,^[3] the most wins in a season for UCLA since it started playing basketball in 1919.^[37] He surpassed that number the next season with 24–7 and a second Southern Division Championship and PCC outright, and won a third and fourth straight Southern Division Championship his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected a total of two such championships the previous 30 years.

In spite of these achievements, Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position, and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles. When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return and finally accept the head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word.^[38]

By the 1955-56 season, Wooden had established a sustained success at UCLA. That year, he guided the team to its first undefeated PCC conference title, and a 17-game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Bill Russell's University of San Francisco team in the 1956 NCAA Tournament. However, UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons, finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament as the Pete Newell-coached teams at the University of California, Berkeley took control of the conference at the end of the decade. Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden's team during that time period was a probation imposed on all UCLA sports in the aftermath of a scandal involving illegal payments made to players on the school's football team, along with USC, Cal and Stanford, resulting in the dismantling of the PCC conference.^[39]

By 1962, with the probation no longer in place, Wooden had righted the basketball program's ship and returned his team to the top of the conference. This time, however, they would take the next step, and in so doing, unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball. A narrow loss, due largely to a controversial foul call, in the semifinal of the 1962 NCAA Tournament convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships.^[39] Two seasons later, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that the team's small-sized players and fast-paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense.^[39] The result was a dramatic increase in scoring, giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went undefeated on its way to the school's first basketball national championship.

Wooden's team repeated as national champions the following season before the 1966 squad fell briefly, finishing second in the conference. However, the Bruins' 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance, reclaiming not only the conference title, but the national crown, and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden's retirement in 1975.

Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, in a 93–59 victory over Stanford. Four weeks later, following a 75–74 overtime victory over Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game, Wooden announced that he would retire immediately after the championship game.^[40] His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly, as his team responded with a win over Kentucky to claim Wooden's first career coaching victory over the Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship.

In 2004, a 93-year old Wooden stated that he wouldn't mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties.^[41]

During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as the "Wizard of Westwood" (although he personally disdained the nickname)^[38] and gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.^[2] His UCLA teams also had a record winning streak of 88 games^[42][43] and four perfect 30–0 seasons.^[2] They also won 38 straight games in NCAA Tournaments^[2] and 98 straight home game wins at Pauley Pavilion. Wooden was named NCAA College Basketball's "Coach of the Year" in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1967, he was named the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award with Billie Jean King. He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973,^[44] becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach.^[3][4]

"He never made more than $35,000 a year salary (not including camps and speaking engagements), including 1975, the year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise," wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN. He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift.^[45] According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him.

Criticism of Wooden with regard to his stewardship of the UCLA basketball program has most often focused on his failure to investigate or curtail his players' involvement with Sam Gilbert, a UCLA booster who was a prominent figure in the players' circle in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.^{[46][47][48][49]} A 1981 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that Gilbert had regularly arranged to procure items such as automobiles, clothing and airline tickets for UCLA players, and in so doing, apparently committed numerous violations of NCAA regulations.^[47][50][51] The investigation did not uncover evidence that Wooden had explicit personal awareness of Gilbert's activities.^[47] However, Gilbert's overall influence in the lives of the players was so well-known,^[52] the Times reporters concluded that if Wooden was not cognizant of the specifics of Gilbert's favors for players, it was only because Wooden made no effort to discover those details.^[47][53] For his part, Wooden acknowledged that he had always felt uneasy about Gilbert's relationship with the players, but steadfastly denied having knowledge at the time of anything done by Gilbert that was in violation of NCAA regulations.^{[47][48][54][55]} He also asserted that both he and UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan had advised players to steer clear of Gilbert, but that ultimately they could not control the players' or Gilbert's actions.^[56] Given what later came to light, however, Wooden granted that he may have had "tunnel vision"^[47][54] and that he perhaps "trusted too much". Nonetheless, Wooden said that his "conscience [was] clear" with regard to his own role in the matter.^[47]

Head coaching record[link]

Wooden championships[link]

Legacy[link]

The John Wooden era at UCLA is unrivaled in terms of national championships. The next-closest school, on the women's side, Tennessee, has won eight championships with the next-winningest coach, Pat Summitt.^[58] For men's basketball, Adolph Rupp and Mike Krzyzewski have won four national championships; Jim Calhoun and Bob Knight^[59][60] have won three titles, with Knight also having an undefeated season^[59] (Wooden had four perfect seasons,^[2] with Geno Auriemma also having four with the Connecticut women's team; no other men's or women's Division I coach has more than one).

UCLA celebrates John Wooden Day every February 29.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time".^[61]

Honors[link]

Wooden has been recognized numerous times for his achievements. After his coaching career ended UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus^[62] On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.^[63] He was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honoree in the Missouri Valley Conference's Lifetime Achievement category.^[31] Wooden said the honor he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S." by his denomination, the Christian Church.^[57]

Since 1977, the most coveted of four college basketball player of the year awards has been named the John R. Wooden Award. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.^[64] The MVP award for the McDonald's All-American Game in high-school basketball is named the "John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award". Two annual doubleheader men's basketball events called the "John R. Wooden Classic"^[65] and the "John R. Wooden Tradition"^[66] are held in Wooden's honor.

John Wooden Recreation Center on the campus of UCLA

He has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name,^[57] and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School.^[67] In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden.^[68] Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court," Wooden asked for the change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court," insisting that his wife's name should come first.^[69] In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honor on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court."^[70] The student recreation center at UCLA is also named in his honor.^[71] Also in 2008, Wooden was honored with a commemorative bronze plaque in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.^[72] On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California, near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office.^[73] This act was signed by President George W. Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman.^[2]

On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. It was presented by George W. Bush after a three-year campaign by Andre McCarter, who was on Wooden's 1975 National Championship team. The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach established the John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009, with Wooden being the inaugural recipient.^[74] In 1986 John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University – the first year the award was given.

On October 14, 2010, the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a "John Wooden Day Celebration" to honor Wooden's 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university.^[75] A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Center is a recreation of Wooden's den office in honor of his memory on campus.^[76]

Golf Digest lists John Wooden as one of four people to hit both a double eagle and a hole in one in the same round of golf.^[77] The feat was accomplished in 1947 at the South Bend Country Club in South Bend, Indiana.

The flagship leadership development program of Wooden’s fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, is named "The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle" after Coach Wooden and his wife, Nellie.^[78] Coach Wooden’s maxims and Creed are central to the teaching of leadership development at the Institute.

Following Wooden[link]

Four coaches left UCLA in the nine years following Wooden. One former UCLA head coach, former ESPN analyst and current St. John's head coach Steve Lavin (fired from UCLA in 2003), has said "The mythology and pathology of UCLA basketball isn't going to change" due to Wooden's legacy and believes that every basketball coach will eventually be fired or forced out from UCLA.^[79]

Wooden's immediate successor at UCLA, Gene Bartow, went 28–5 in 1976, but was blown out twice that season by the eventual national champions Indiana, the second time in the '76 Final Four, and lost 76–75 in the 1977 West Region semi-finals to Idaho State University. Bartow won 85.2% of his games (compared to Wooden's 80.8%) in two years, yet supposedly received death threats from unsatisfied UCLA fans. Wooden himself has often joked about being a victim of his own success, calling his successors on the phone and playfully identifying himself ominously as "we the alumni..."^[80] In his autobiography, Wooden recounts walking off the court after his last game coaching in 1975, having just won his tenth title, only to have a UCLA fan walk up and say, "Great win coach, this makes up for letting us down last year" (UCLA had lost in the semi-finals in double overtime in 1974 to eventual national champion North Carolina State)^[81] Bartow's successor, Wooden's protege, Gary Cunningham, posted an even better two year record after Bartow, .862 (50–8) and No. 2 rankings each year, but could not proceed past two wins in the NCAAs, and left. Larry Brown came next, racking up more losses, 17, in two years than UCLA had experienced the previous four, yet with a near magical end season run typical of his career, he managed to coach UCLA into the title game in 1980. He left. UCLA went 20 years after Wooden's retirement before winning another national basketball championship, finally hanging a banner again in 1995 under coach Jim Harrick. In 2006, Ben Howland led the team back to the national championship game for the first time since the 1995 title game.^[37]

Final years[link]

John Wooden at a ceremony on his 96th birthday

Wooden was in good health until the final years of his life. On April 3, 2006, he spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital receiving treatment for diverticulitis.^[82] He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon, with his daughter quoted as saying her father was "doing well" upon his subsequent release.^[83] Wooden was hospitalized on March 1, 2008, after a fall in his home. He broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall, but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given around-the-clock supervision.^[84] In February, 2009, he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia.^[85]

On May 26, 2010, Wooden was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from dehydration and remained hospitalized there until his death the following week.^[86] He died of natural causes on June 4, 2010, 4 months and 10 days shy of his 100th birthday.^[87][88][89] Wooden was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park following a private ceremony, and a public memorial service was held two weeks later at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Seven Point Creed[link]

John Wooden's Seven Point Creed,^[90] given to him by his father Joshua upon his graduation from grammar school:

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Wooden also authored a lecture and a book about the Pyramid of Success.^[91] The Pyramid of Success consists of philosophical building blocks for winning at basketball and at life. In his later years he was hired by corporations to deliver inspirational lectures and even appeared in commercials for Hartford Insurance and the NCAA. Following his death, all UCLA teams wore either a patch or helmet sticker with the initials "JRW" inside a black pyramid, in honor of his philosophy. It is generally known that he received lecture fees that exceeded the salaries he was paid as a coach. Wooden proudly claimed that these late in life windfalls allowed him to set up education accounts for all of his grandchildren. In a 2009 interview, John Wooden described himself politically as a "liberal Democrat," who had voted for some Republican presidential candidates. At the top of the Pyramid of Success was "Competitive Greatness" which Wooden defined as "Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day."^[92]

Wooden was also the author of several other books about basketball and life.

Among Wooden's maxims:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
• Flexibility is the key to stability.
• Be quick, but don't hurry.^[93][94]

Publications[link]

• Coach John Wooden and Don Yaeger (2009) A Game Plan for Life, Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 978-1-59691-701-9
• John Wooden (2009) Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success: 12 Lessons for Extraordinary Performance and Personal Excellence, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-162614-9
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2006) The Essential Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-148435-0
• John Wooden (2005) Wooden on Leadership, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-145339-4
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (2004) My Personal Best, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-143792-9
• John Wooden (2003) They Call Me Coach, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-142491-2
• John Wooden with Steve Jamison (1997) Wooden, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-8092-3041-9
• John Wooden (1966) Practical Modern Basketball. The Ronald Press Company.

See also[link]

Biography portal

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

References[link]