John R. Wooden: One of the greatest

When it comes to college basketball, no name is more prominent than John R. Wooden, who coached UCLA to 10 NCAA championships during the 1960s and ‘70s. In the process, he earned the title of the greatest coach in American sports history in the eyes of many.

Wooden himself often pointed to his upbringing in Morgan County, Ind., as the key to his later success. His influence dots the landscape throughout the county, from a school name to streets and roads to the high school gymnasium where his legacy continues.

Wooden was born in 1910 in Hall, a small “village” in the northwest corner of Morgan County. At the age of 8, his family moved to Centerton, a small farming community about 8 miles north of Martinsville.

He went on to play for Martinsville High School basketball team in what’s now known as the Glen Curtis Gymnasium, helping lead the squad to three state championship games, from 1926-’28, including the championship honors in 1927.

Wooden then went on to be an All-Star point guard for the Purdue Boilermakers before taking up coaching, first at the high school level and then at the college.

In 1948, he was hired by the University of California in Los Angeles to be the school’s head coach. By the time he retired from the position in 1975, he would have 10 national championships to his credit and be considered by many to be the greatest coach of all time.

Notable landmarks related to John Wooden can be found throughout the county, starting with Hall, his rural birthplace. Centerton, where he came of age, is still a similar setting as when he resided there, and Centerton Elementary School is home to a memorial plaque highlighting Wooden's famous "Pyramid of Sucess." A commemorative roadway in his honor — the Johnny Wooden Interurban Parkway — can be found just east of the location on Tide Water Road. It marks the railway route Wooden took each day to go from his home in Centerton to Martinsville High School.

In Martinsville, the high school gym is named in his honor, and inside the facility, an entire section of its display cases is devoted to Wooden, highlighted by a life-sized wax statue of the famous coach. Inside the gym itself is a smattering of famous quotes and sayings attributed to Wooden, as well as his signature prominently incorporated into the gym floor’s design.

John R. Wooden Drive can be found just east of the high school.

Also in Martinsville is John R. Wooden Middle School, home to Glenn M. Curtis Gymnasium, where Wooden played his high school ball. Today, the gymnasium has been updated with countless murals highlighting the rich history of Martinsville basketball in general and Wooden in particular.

Visit Morgan County — the county’s tourism organization — also commissioned a local art project that displays famous quotes from Wooden, as well as artistic renderings, that were applied to signal boxes at key intersections in the city.

(Prepared by the Morgan County Leadership Academy Class of 2022 on behalf of the Morgan County Bicentennial Committee)