Quick Facts
Biography
John L. Longfellow (born circa 1896) is a former American basketball coach and player. He is best known as National Title winning-head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University as well as leading the USA to a Gold Medal in the 1951 Pan-Am Games.
Born in Warsaw, Indiana, Longfellow was an outstanding Indiana high school coach for the Hartford City Airdales, the Leesburg Blue Blazers and the Nappanee Bulldogs. However, his greatest success came with the Elkhart Blazers. All told, his teams won over 375 games and 24 state tourney titles in 19 years of coaching.
He moved to Indiana State University, replacing the legendary John Wooden. In his first season, he led the Sycamores to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, they finished 4th. In 1950, the Sycamores won the NAIA National Title. Based on their finish, the eligible (those returning for the next season) Sycamores and Coach Longfellow were invited to represent the United States in the 1951 Pan-American Games. Longfellow served as Co-Head Coach and led the American squad to the Gold Medal, the first of many basketball Gold Medals in the Pan-American Games for the USA National Team.
While at Indiana State, he coached some of their most successful players; Duane Klueh, Dick Atha, Don McDonald, Sam Richardson, Lenny Rzeszewski, and Rob Royer. He is currently in 5th place in career in coaching victories. Stress-related heart problems led to his retirement from coaching early in the 1954-55 season, he moved into Athletic Administration at Indiana State.
He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1960; the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1967; the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984. In 2000, his 1949-50 NAIA National Title Team was inducted into the Indiana State University Hall of Fame.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana State (IIC, ICC) (1948–1954) | |||||||||
| 1948–49 | Indiana State | 24-8 | 7-1 | 1st | 1949 NAIA National Semi-finals | ||||
| 1949–50 | Indiana State | 27-8 | 7-2 | 1st | 1950 NAIA CHAMPIONS | ||||
| 1950–51 | Indiana State | 15-10 | 8-4 | 1st | |||||
| 1951–52 | Indiana State | 19-10 | 7-5 | NAIA 2nd Round | |||||
| 1952–53 | Indiana State | 23-8 | 8-4 | NAIA National Semi-finals | |||||
| 1953–54 | Indiana State | 12-15 | 5-7 | NAIA 1st Round | |||||
| 1954–55 | Indiana State | 2-5 | 1-1 | ||||||
| Indiana State: | 122-64 (.656) | 43-24 (.642) | |||||||
| Total: | 122-64 (.656) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||