| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1901-12-22)December 22, 1901 Elwood, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 30, 1959(1959-01-30) (aged 57) Clayton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1921–1924 | Purdue |
| Position | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1927–1935 | Earlham |
| 1935–1938 | Tennessee |
| 1938–1942 | Cornell |
| 1946–1947 | Connecticut |
| 1947–1952 | Washington University |
| 1953–1959 | Washington University |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 313–211 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| First-team All-Big Ten (1922) | |
Burton Blair Gullion (December 22, 1901 – January 30, 1959) was an Americancollege basketball player and coach. He was head coach forEarlham College, theUniversity of Tennessee,Cornell University, theUniversity of Connecticut andWashington University in St. Louis. He was also a president of theNational Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Guillion played college basketball forPurdue from 1921 to 1924, leading theBig Ten Conference in scoring in 1922. Following his playing career, Gullion coached at the high school level and in 1927 was named head coach for Earlham College. He coached there for eight seasons and led the program to its only undefeated season in school history, going 15–0 in the 1932–33 campaign.[1]
Following his time at Earlham, Gullion moved toTennessee, where he went 47–19 over three seasons, and thenCornell, where he went 48–43 over four seasons. Gullion's coaching career was put on hold during World War II, as he served as a major in the Air Force, primarily overseeing physical education programs.[2]
After the war, Gullion was named head coach atConnecticut in 1946 and was named president of the NABC. He left to become head coach andathletic director forWashington University.[3] He led the basketball program for eleven seasons, compiling a 109–87 record from 1947 to 1959. Gullion died during his tenure as Bears' coach and AD on January 30, 1959, of a heart attack.
A respected basketball mind throughout his career, Gullion authored three books on the game and in 1971 was posthumously inducted to theIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame.[1]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Volunteers(SEC)(1935–1938) | |||||||||
| 1935–36 | Tennessee | 15–6 | 8–4 | 1st | |||||
| 1936–37 | Tennessee | 17–5 | 7–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1937–38 | Tennessee | 15–8 | 7–4 | 8th | |||||
| Tennessee: | 47–19 (.712) | 22–9 (.710) | |||||||
| Connecticut Huskies(New England Conference)(1945–1946) | |||||||||
| 1945–46 | Connecticut | 11–6 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| Connecticut Huskies(Yankee Conference)(1946–1947) | |||||||||
| 1946–47 | Connecticut | 4–2[Note A] | 1–1[Note A] | [Note A] | |||||
| Connecticut: | 15–8 (.652) | 5–3 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 15–8 (.652) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
