 Ripley from the 1943Domesday Booke | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1892-07-21)July 21, 1892 Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 29, 1982(1982-04-29) (aged 90) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1922–1925 | Wagner |
| 1927–1929 | Georgetown |
| 1929–1935 | Yale |
| 1938–1943 | Georgetown |
| 1943–1945 | Columbia |
| 1945–1946 | Notre Dame |
| 1946–1949 | Georgetown |
| 1949–1951 | John Carroll |
| 1951–1953 | Army |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 301–226 (college) |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1973 (profile) | |
Elmer H. Ripley (July 21, 1891 – April 29, 1982) was an Americanbasketball coach. He coachedcollege basketball at seven different schools and for several professional teams.
Ripley was born inStaten Island, New York on July 21, 1891. After graduating from local Curtis High School, he attendedBrown University.
Ripley began his career as a player before making the switch to coach in 1922. At age 19, Ripley decided to leave Brown to play basketball professionally with theInterstate LeagueBrooklyn Trolly Dodgers, theNew York League'sUtica Utes and the "Original Celtics" club. Ripley would enjoy numerous achievements including being voted among the ten bestpro players from 1909 to 1926.
After playing, he went on to coach basketball at several major American universities and traveled the world teaching the game. Ripley began his first professional coaching tenure withWagner College in 1922, before moving into a position atGeorgetown University in 1927. He won 12 of his first 13 games. During his many years with the Georgetown, he achieved a 133–82 record and lead theHoyas to theNCAA tournament in 1943, reaching the national championship game. Ripley was hired away by several colleges includingColumbia University,University of Notre Dame, andYale University, which he coached to the 1933Ivy League championship.
After leaving Georgetown in 1949, Ripley coached theHarlem Globetrotters (1953–1956), theIsraeli Olympic team (1956) and theCanadian Olympic team (1960). The U.S. Committee for Sports sent Ripley toIsrael in 1957 to teach basketball. In 1962, Ripley coached high school basketball for the Englewood (N.J.)School for Boys (later part of the Dwight-Englewood School). In 1965–66, while coaching at Englewood, Ripley was hired by the New York Knicks to teach their center, future Hall of Famer Willis Reed, how to play the power forward position when the Knicks acquired a second center, future Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy, for their team. Ripley continued to coach through his 80th birthday and was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Ripley died on April 29, 1982, at the age of 90.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner Seahawks(Independent)(1922–1925) | |||||||||
| 1922–23 | Wagner | 6–6 | |||||||
| 1923–24 | Wagner | 8–8 | |||||||
| 1924–25 | Wagner | 9–8 | |||||||
| Wagner: | 23–22 (.511) | ||||||||
| Georgetown Hoyas(Independent)(1927–1929) | |||||||||
| 1927–28 | Georgetown | 12–1 | |||||||
| 1928–29 | Georgetown | 12–5 | |||||||
| Georgetown: | 24–6 (.800) | ||||||||
| Yale Bulldogs(Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League)(1929–1935) | |||||||||
| 1929–30 | Yale | 13–8 | 4–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1930–31 | Yale | 15–8 | 6–4 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1931–32 | Yale | 10–12 | 1–9 | 6th | |||||
| 1932–33 | Yale | 19–3 | 8–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1933–34 | Yale | 14–9 | 7–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1934–35 | Yale | 11–10 | 5–7 | 4th | |||||
| Yale: | 82–50 (.621) | 31–33 (.484) | |||||||
| Georgetown Hoyas(Eastern Intercollegiate Conference)(1938–1939) | |||||||||
| 1938–39 | Georgetown | 13–9 | 6–4 | T–1st | |||||
| Georgetown Hoyas(Independent)(1939–1943) | |||||||||
| 1939–40 | Georgetown | 8–10 | |||||||
| 1940–41 | Georgetown | 16–4 | |||||||
| 1941–42 | Georgetown | 9–11 | |||||||
| 1942–43 | Georgetown | 22–5 | NCAA Runner-up | ||||||
| Georgetown: | 68–39 (.381) | 6–4 (.600) | |||||||
| Columbia Lions(Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League)(1943–1945) | |||||||||
| 1943–44 | Columbia | 7–9 | 2–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1944–45 | Columbia | 9–10 | 1–5 | 4th | |||||
| Columbia: | 16–19 (.457) | 3–11 (.214) | |||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish(Independent)(1945–1946) | |||||||||
| 1945–46 | Notre Dame | 17–4 | |||||||
| Notre Dame: | 17–4 (.810) | ||||||||
| Georgetown Hoyas(Independent)(1946–1949) | |||||||||
| 1946–47 | Georgetown | 17–4 | |||||||
| 1947–48 | Georgetown | 13–15 | |||||||
| 1948–49 | Georgetown | 9–15 | |||||||
| Georgetown: | 39–34 (.534) | ||||||||
| John Carroll Blue Streaks(Independent)(1949–1951) | |||||||||
| 1949–50 | John Carroll | 9–11 | |||||||
| 1950–51 | John Carroll | 2–21 | |||||||
| John Carroll: | 11–32 (.256) | ||||||||
| Army Cadets(Independent)(1951–1953) | |||||||||
| 1951–52 | Army | 8–9 | |||||||
| 1952–53 | Army | 11–8 | |||||||
| Army: | 19–17 (.528) | ||||||||
| Total: | 301–226 (.571) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||