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 Hobson in the 1944Oregana | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1903-07-04)July 4, 1903 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1991(1991-06-09) (aged 87) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Basketball | |
| 1923–1926 | Oregon |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Basketball | |
| 1932–1935 | Southern Oregon Normal |
| 1935–1944 | Oregon |
| 1945–1947 | Oregon |
| 1947–1956 | Yale |
| Football | |
| 1929 | Cortland Normal |
| 1932–1934 | Southern Oregon Normal |
| Baseball | |
| 1936–1947 | Oregon |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 401–257 (college basketball) 15–11–1 (college football) 167–75–1 (college baseball) |
| Tournaments | Basketball 3–2 (NCAA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Basketball NCAA (1939) PCC (1939) EIBL (1949) 2PCC North Division (1938, 1939) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1965 (profile) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Howard Andrew "Hobby"Hobson (July 4, 1903 – June 9, 1991) was an Americanbasketball player and coach offootball, basketball, andbaseball. He served as the head basketball coach at Southern Oregon Normal School—nowSouthern Oregon University—from 1932 to 1935, at theUniversity of Oregon from 1935 to 1944 and again from 1945 to 1947, and atYale University from 1947 to 1956, compiling a careercollege basketball record of 401–257. Hobson's1938–39 Oregon basketball team won theinaugural NCAA basketball tournament. Hobson authored numerous books on the subject of basketball. He was also the head football coach at Southern Oregon for 1932 to 1934, tallying a mark of 12–7–1, and the head baseball coach at Oregon from 1936 to 1947, amassing a record of 167–75–1. Hobson was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 1965.
Hobson playedbasketball for four years atFranklin High School inPortland, Oregon, from which he graduated in 1922. During his time there, he was team captain for two years, and led the state championship-winning team in 1921.
He was captain of theUniversity of Oregon's basketball team from 1924 to 1926, and in 1925, his team tiedOregon State for thePacific Coast Conference title. However, they lost in the playoffs. A year later, the team won the conference title, but lost to theCalifornia in the playoffs. This 1926 team was nevertheless undefeated in the conference, with a win record of 10–0. In the same year, he graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree. He went on to obtain a master's degree in 1929 and a doctorate in 1945, both fromColumbia University.
Hobson began his coaching career atKelso High School inKelso, Washington in 1928, where his team won the league championship. In 1929, he was the head football coach at the Cortland Normal School, now known asState University of New York College at Cortland. From 1930 to 1932, he coachedBenson High School in Portland. They won the championship in his final year there. Hobson subsequently ledSouthern Oregon Normal School to three consecutive league championship victories from 1933 to 1935.
In 1936, Hobson took over as head basketball coach of the University of Oregon Ducks, leading them to three consecutivePacific Coast Conference titles from 1937 to 1939, culminating in the first-everNCAA basketball championship in 1939. His1939 team was known as the "Tall Firs" because of their size: the players averaged about six feet in height, which was considered very tall for a basketball player at the time.
Hobson coached Oregon's basketball and baseball teams from 1936 to 1947, when he left to coach basketball atYale University. He coached at Yale until 1956, during which time his teams won or shared fiveBig Three crowns (in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1953, and 1956). The 1949 team was the first NCAA Tournament entry in the school's history and won theEastern Intercollegiate Basketball League title for the first time in 16 years.
Hobson was the first coach to win championships at a major college level on both coasts. He also pioneered intersectional play at Oregon, making the Ducks the first Western team to travel East for games. He repeated this type of intersectional play at Yale, and the 1948–49 team was the first Yale team to appear on thePacific Coast. His overall record for 27 years as a coach was 495–291.
In 1947, Hobson was named President of theNational Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). For 12 years, he was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Basketball Committee. He served four years as a member and treasurer of the National Basketball Rules Committee and conducted basketball clinics in the U.S. and in 15 foreign countries. On October 13, 1965, Howard Hobson was enshrined as a coach in theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, having also been inducted into the Portland High School, Helms Foundation,Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, and Portland Metro Hall of Fame.
In 1988, he attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of the NCAA Tournament. Hobson died on June 9, 1991.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Oregon Normal()(1932–1935) | |||||||||
| 1932–33 | Southern Oregon Normal | 19–5 | |||||||
| 1933–34 | Southern Oregon Normal | 23–5 | |||||||
| 1934–35 | Southern Oregon Normal | 26–5 | |||||||
| Southern Oregon Normal: | 68–15 (.819) | ||||||||
| Oregon Webfoots(Pacific Coast Conference)(1935–1944) | |||||||||
| 1935–36 | Oregon | 20–11 | 7–9 | 4th(North) | |||||
| 1936–37 | Oregon | 20–9 | 11–5 | T–2nd(North) | |||||
| 1937–38 | Oregon | 25–8 | 14–6 | 1st(North) | |||||
| 1938–39 | Oregon | 29–5 | 14–2 | 1st(North) | NCAA Champion | ||||
| 1939–40 | Oregon | 19–12 | 10–6 | 2nd(North) | |||||
| 1940–41 | Oregon | 18–18 | 7–9 | T–3rd(North) | |||||
| 1941–42 | Oregon | 12–15 | 7–9 | 4th(North) | |||||
| 1942–43 | Oregon | 19–10 | 10–6 | 2nd(North) | |||||
| 1943–44 | Oregon | 16–10 | 11–5 | 2nd(North) | |||||
| Oregon Webfoots(Pacific Coast Conference)(1945–1947) | |||||||||
| 1945–46 | Oregon | 16–17 | 8–8 | 3rd(North) | |||||
| 1946–47 | Oregon | 18–9 | 7–9 | 4th(North) | |||||
| Oregon: | 212–124 (.631) | 106–74 (.589) | |||||||
| Yale Bulldogs(Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League)(1947–1955) | |||||||||
| 1947–48 | Yale | 14–13 | 4–8 | 6th | |||||
| 1948–49 | Yale | 22–8 | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional Fourth Place | ||||
| 1949–50 | Yale | 17–9 | 7–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1950–51 | Yale | 14–13 | 5–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1951–52 | Yale | 14–14 | 4–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1952–53 | Yale | 10–15 | 6–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1953–54 | Yale | 12–14 | 7–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1954–55 | Yale | 3–21 | 3–11 | T–6th | |||||
| Yale Bulldogs(Ivy League)(1955–1956) | |||||||||
| 1955–56 | Yale | 15–11 | 7–7 | T–5th | |||||
| Yale: | 121–118 (.506) | 52–63 (.452) | |||||||
| Total: | 401–257 (.609) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland Normal Red Dragons(Independent)(1929–present) | |||||||||
| 1929 | Cortland Normal | 3–4 | |||||||
| Cortland Normal: | 3–4 | ||||||||
| Southern Oregon Normal(Independent)(1932–1934) | |||||||||
| 1932 | Southern Oregon Normal | 4–1–1 | |||||||
| 1933 | Southern Oregon Normal | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1934 | Southern Oregon Normal | 2–4 | |||||||
| Southern Oregon Normal: | 12–7–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 15–11–1 | ||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
