Sherman Bill Names Coach Wooden Post Office
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Brad Sherman announced Monday that he introduced legislation to name a post office after legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, a long-time San Fernando Valley resident.
œPassing this bill through all the hoops in Congress should be a slam dunk, Sherman said.
Sherman, who saw the Wooden-coached Bruins win Pac-10 and NCAA championships each season while he was a student at UCLA, introduced legislation to name the Reseda post office the Coach John Wooden Post Office.
œI had the great privilege of watching John Wooden coach Bill Walton and the virtually invincible Bruins to one national championship after another after another in the early ˜70s, Sherman said. œThe coach led UCLA to victory so often that someone said he made the concept of the NCAA tournament a farce. Under Woodens guidance, the Bruins had four perfect 30-0 seasons, 88 consecutive victories, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories, 20 Pac-10 championships, and 10 national championships, including a winning streak of seven in a row.
œThe sports columnist Jim Murray once said Coach Wooden was so square he was divisible by four, Sherman said, œbut the truth is his Pyramid of Success multiplied the talents of his players and others inspired by the coachs inspirational leadership. Off the court, Wooden shared his wisdom in books like Wooden on Ledership, My Personal Best: Life Lessons From an All-American Journey and Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success. œThe coach taught his players and all of us how to be successful in life, Sherman added.
Wooden was a standout college player at Purdue University before he became the most successful coach in college basketball history. Wooden was named College Player of the Year in 1932, when he starred on the Boilermaker team that won the national championship. He is one of only three people enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
Wooden, 95, has lived in Encino for the past three decades. (The Encino post office was named for Lakers sportscaster Chick Hearn in 2002.) His daughter, Nancy Anne Muehlhausen, lives in Reseda.