 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1894-07-04)July 4, 1894 Murray City, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 1964(1964-11-01) (aged 70) Ligonier, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1914–1917 | Pittsburgh |
| Basketball | |
| 1914–1917 | Pittsburgh |
| Baseball | |
| c. 1917 | Pittsburgh |
| Position(s) | End (football) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Basketball | |
| 1922–1953 | Pittsburgh |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 367–248 |
| Tournaments | 1–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2Helms Athletic Foundation National (1928, 1930) Premo-Porretta National (1928) NCAA Final Four (1941) 4 Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (1933–1935, 1937) | |
| Awards | |
| NABC Most Contributions to the Game (1948) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1959 | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Henry Clifford "Doc"Carlson (July 4, 1894 – November 1, 1964) was an American basketball coach and football player. He is aNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee as themen's college basketball coach of his alma mater, theUniversity of Pittsburgh, from 1922 to 1953. At Pitt he compiled a record of 367–247 record (.595). His1927–28 team finished the season with a 21–0 record[1] and was retroactively named the national champion by theHelms Athletic Foundation and thePremo-Porretta Power Poll; Carlson's Panthers would receive retroactive recognition as the Helms national champion for the1929–30 season as well.[2][3] Carlson also led Pitt to theFinal Four in 1941. As a student at the university, Carlson was also aFirst Team All-Americanend onPitt's football team under coach"Pop" Warner. Carlson also lettered in basketball andbaseball.
Carlson was born inMurray City, Ohio. He played high school football, basketball, and baseball (1910–1914) atBellefonte Academy inBellefonte, Pennsylvania. During his undergraduate years at the University of Pittsburgh (1914–1918) he earned three letters in basketball, two in baseball, four in football. He played on the 1916 Pitt football team that is widely regarded as that season's national champion[4] and was selected as anAll-American football player while playing for Pitt's undefeated 1917 team.
After graduation in 1918,[5] Carlson completed his medical degree at Pitt in 1920,[6] but then joined theCleveland Indians professional football team for one season. When in 1922 Andrew Kerr, who was Pitt's basketball coach and assistant football coach, left to become football head coach atStanford University, Pitt hired "Doc" Carlson as its new basketball coach. Simultaneously he practiced as a physician for the Carnegie Steel Company.
Carlson was famous for his Figure 8 offense, an innovation that many coaches copied. In 1928 Pittsburgh went a perfect 21–0 and the national championship. His Panthers won another national title in 1930. (Both were selected as national champions, prior to the advent ofNCAA Tournament, by the Helms Athletic Foundation.) He also led the Panthers to Eastern Intercollegiate Conference championships in four out of the seven years of the conference's existence. In 1931 Carlson became the first Eastern coach to take a collegiate team westward, going on the road to beat theUniversity of Kansas, theUniversity of Colorado, Stanford, and theUniversity of Southern California. He also wrote the bookYou and Basketball.
Legend has it that Carlson offeredStan Musial a basketball scholarship to Pitt, but Musial only wanted to play baseball, and had secretly signed a contract with theSt. Louis Cardinals'Monessen, Pennsylvania, ball club of the Class D Pennsylvania State League Association.
Carlson became Pitt's director of student health services in 1932 and held that position until his retirement in 1953. Apart from his brief stint in the NFL, he spent the first 43 years of his adult life at Pitt as a student and coach. He died November 1, 1964, at his home inLigonier, Pennsylvania.
Carlson was inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame in 1949, theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 1959,[7] and theNational Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 2006.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Independent)(1922–1932) | |||||||||
| 1922–23 | Pittsburgh | 10–5 | |||||||
| 1923–24 | Pittsburgh | 10–7 | |||||||
| 1924–25 | Pittsburgh | 4–10 | |||||||
| 1925–26 | Pittsburgh | 12–5 | |||||||
| 1926–27 | Pittsburgh | 10–7 | |||||||
| 1927–28 | Pittsburgh | 21–0 | Helms Foundation National Champions Premo–Porretta National Champions | ||||||
| 1928–29 | Pittsburgh | 16–5 | |||||||
| 1929–30 | Pittsburgh | 23–2 | Helms Foundation National Champions | ||||||
| 1930–31 | Pittsburgh | 20–4 | |||||||
| 1931–32 | Pittsburgh | 14–16 | |||||||
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Eastern Intercollegiate Conference)(1932–1939) | |||||||||
| 1932–33 | Pittsburgh | 17–5 | 7–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1933–34 | Pittsburgh | 18–4 | 8–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1934–35 | Pittsburgh | 18–6 | 7–2 | 1st* | American Legion Bowl | ||||
| 1935–36 | Pittsburgh | 18–9 | 7–4 | 2nd* | |||||
| 1936–37 | Pittsburgh | 14–7 | 8–3 | 1st* | |||||
| 1937–38 | Pittsburgh | 9–12 | 5–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1938–39 | Pittsburgh | 10–8 | 5–5 | T–3rd | |||||
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Independent)(1939–1953) | |||||||||
| 1939–40 | Pittsburgh | 8–9 | |||||||
| 1940–41 | Pittsburgh | 13–6 | NCAA Final Four | ||||||
| 1941–42 | Pittsburgh | 5–10 | |||||||
| 1942–43 | Pittsburgh | 10–5 | |||||||
| 1943–44 | Pittsburgh | 7–7 | |||||||
| 1944–45 | Pittsburgh | 8–4 | |||||||
| 1945–46 | Pittsburgh | 7–7 | |||||||
| 1946–47 | Pittsburgh | 8–10 | |||||||
| 1947–48 | Pittsburgh | 10–11 | |||||||
| 1948–49 | Pittsburgh | 12–13 | |||||||
| 1949–50 | Pittsburgh | 4–14 | |||||||
| 1950–51 | Pittsburgh | 9–17 | |||||||
| 1951–52 | Pittsburgh | 10–12 | |||||||
| 1952–53 | Pittsburgh | 12–11 | |||||||
| Pittsburgh: | 367–248 (.597) | 47–20 (.701) | |||||||
| Total: | 367–248 (.597) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
* Eastern Intercollegiate Conference championships between teams with identical records were decided by a one–game playoff in these seasons (included in conference record totals).