Sam Barry

Barry from the 1950El Rodeo
Biographical details
Born	(1892-12-17)December 17, 1892 Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S.
Died	September 23, 1950(1950-09-23) (aged 57) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1918–1922	Knox (IL)
1922–1929	Iowa
1929–1941	USC
1945–1950	USC
Football
1918–1921	Knox (IL)
1922–1928	Iowa (assistant)
1929–1940	USC (assistant)
1941	USC
1945–1950	USC (assistant)
Baseball
1923–1924	Iowa
1930–1942	USC
1946–1950	USC
Head coaching record
Overall	17–18–5 (football) 360–207 (basketball) 361–141–4 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Basketball 2Big Ten (1923, 1926) 4PCC (1930, 1933, 1935, 1940) 6PCC South Division (1930, 1933–1935, 1939–1940) Baseball NCAA (1948) 10PCC regular season (1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1942, 1946–1949)
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1979 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006

Justin McCarthy "Sam"Barry (December 17, 1892 – September 23, 1950) was an American collegiatecoach who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports - football, baseball, and basketball. He remains one of only three coaches to lead teams to both theFinal Four and theCollege World Series. Barry, and four of his USC players (Jack Gardner,Alex Hannum,Tex Winter andBill Sharman), have been inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches; Sharman was also inducted as a player.

Born inAberdeen, South Dakota, Barry starred inbasketball,baseball, andfootball in high school inMadison, Wisconsin. He continued his success atLawrence College inAppleton,^[1] later completing his degree at theUniversity of Wisconsin in Madison. He returned to Madison High School to begin his coaching career, and then became theathletic director atKnox College inIllinois from 1918 to 1922, where he also served as coach of football, basketball, baseball, andtrack.^[1]

In 1922, Barry was namedbasketball coach at theUniversity of Iowa inIowa City, and also became afootball assistant underHawkeyes head coachHoward Jones, an association which would continue for 15 years at two universities. Barry also coached thebaseball team in 1923 and 1924.^[1] He led the Hawkeye basketball team toBig Ten Conference co-championships in 1923 and 1926—the first two conference titles in team history. In 1929, he wrote a handbook on the sport: "Basketball: Individual Play and Team Play" that featured University of Iowa players and facilities. He also 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 until1956.

In 1929, theUniversity of Southern California inLos Angeles was in need of a newbasketball 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 thebaseball team, while also resuming his duties as an assistant football coach under Jones. Barry's Trojan basketball teams wonPacific Coast Conference titles 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 nascentNCAA tournament, but they lost their bid for the national title when they were upset in the national semifinal atKansas City, againstKansas, when the son of opposing coach,Phog Allen, made a basket with seconds left for a one-point victory. Despite the loss, theHelms Athletic Foundation later retroactively selected USC as the 1940 national champions.

Barry was also a valued part of the USC football teams which claimednational championships in1931,1932, and1939, as well as seven PCC titles and fiveRose Bowl victories. He was Jones' top assistant on the sidelines from1929 to1940, 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 moderndefensive coordinator. The team's football successes included a 25-game winning streak from 1931 to1933, and the undefeated1938 team's 7–3 victory in theRose Bowl overDuke — a team which had previously held every opponent scoreless.

After Jones' sudden death from aheart attack in July 1941,^[2] Barry was a natural choice to take over the reins of the football team and became 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. The1941 USC football team finished with a losing record at 2–6–1. 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, includingPaul Brown,Frank Leahy, andClark 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 in1941. And the team made some upsets, defeatingRose Bowl-boundOregon State, and nearly toppled fourth-rankedNotre Dame on the road inIndiana, falling by only two points.

In 1942, other concerns took precedence as the 49-year-old Barry entered theU.S. Navy for service duringWorld War II.^[3] He recommendedJeff Cravath to take over his duties as USC football coach,^[4] Julie Bescos as basketball coach, andRod Dedeaux as baseball coach for the duration of the war. As alieutenant commander,^[5] 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 thenSecretary of the NavyJames 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 the1948 College World Series, the Trojans captured their first title by defeating aYale team captained by futurePresidentGeorge Bush. Thefinals were held atHyames Field inKalamazoo, Michigan, settled by a 9–2 win in the third and deciding game.^[6][7] The Trojans had a chance to repeat in 1949, but were eliminated when they suffered a pair of extra-inning losses toWake 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 in1950 that he died. Attending a football game inBerkeley at theUniversity of California on September 23, he suffered aheart attack while climbing the hill toMemorial Stadium, and died before reaching the hospital.^[8]

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 theColiseum 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 inHoly Cross Cemetery inCulver City.

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 byJohn Wooden atUCLA,Phil Woolpert atSan Francisco, andPete Newell atCalifornia.

Sam Barry's players benefited greatly from his leadership and teaching ability. Four basketball players— Jerry Nemer,Lee Guttero,Ralph Vaughn andBill 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, andBob Boyd in basketball, andRod Dedeaux in baseball. In addition,Hall of Fame managerSparky 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 themajor 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 thetriangle offense, which his pupil Tex Winter refined to bring great successes to theNBA championChicago Bulls andLos 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 andNorth Carolina, and throughout the country, before the introduction of theshot 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 significantNCAA 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 the1941 college football season, his 1939–40 basketball team drew a record crowd when visitingMadison 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 theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was among the 2007 class of inductees to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame^[9] He was inducted into thePac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor during the2012 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament, March 10, 2012.^[10]

• "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 withDr. Naismith 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 Wooden
• "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 theStaggs,Warners andJoneses 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

Longest winning streaks by a coach against a single opponent, college basketball:

• 40 –Sam Barry (USC) vs. UCLA, 1932–1942 and 1946
• 38 –Lute Olson (Arizona) vsWashington State, 1986–2004
• 37 –Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) vs.Mississippi, 1933–1972
• 32 –John Wooden (UCLA) vs. California, 1961–1975
• 31 –Frank Keaney (Rhode Island) vs.Maine, 1924–1948
• 31 –Bob Knight (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 Rupp (Kentucky) – 10
• Dean Smith (North Carolina) – 9
• Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) – 8
• John Wooden (UCLA) – 8
• Bob Knight (Indiana) – 6
• Ward "Piggy" Lambert (Purdue) – 5
• Lute Olson (Arizona) – 5
• John Thompson (Georgetown) – 5
• Forrest "Phog" Allen (Kansas) – 4
• Sam Barry (USC) – 4
• Jim Calhoun (Connecticut) – 4
• Roy Williams (Kansas) – 4
• Rick Barnes (Texas) – 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 Dean (Stanford) – Final Four in 1942; CWS in 1953
• Frank McGuire (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.

• List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile

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