Bay Area Basketball Legend Passes

There hasn't been much of late that the bay area can boast about when it comes to basketball. But there was a time..........

And Pete Newell is the man of that time. A coach and teacher, Pete is to west coast basketball what Kobiyashi is to competitive eating, a pioneer and innovator. He brought respectability to west coast college basketball programs.

Personally, I know little about the basketball era of 1959 when Pete led the Cal Bears to the NCAA Title. But after reading today's newspaper and internet articles about him I understand just how important a role he played in developing not only players, but coaches and basketball schemes. I think the SF Chronicle said it best:

"A Man Who Was A Legend To Other Legends."

It seems that more than anything, Pete was a great teacher of basketball. A Legendary Teacher!

Basketball Accomplishments as coach:

1949 NIT Championship (USF)
1959 NCAA Championship (CAL)
1960 Summer Olympics Gold
4 consecutive Pac-8 Titles (former Pac-10)
8 straight wins over John Wooden's early UCLA teams


Off the court Pete has a colorful history. He was a child actor who played in a number of Hal Roach's "Our Gang" movies. Imagine that, I've seen almost every little rascals still in print and never would've guessed that Pete Newell was one of the gang. He was also a steamship deck cadet, a WWII Navy seaman, author of numerous basketball instructional books, Husband and Father.

Peter Francis "Pete" Newell
(August 3, 1915 - November 17, 2008)