Blair Gullion
Biographical details
Born(1901-12-22)December 22, 1901
Elwood, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 30, 1959(1959-01-30) (aged 57)
Clayton, Missouri, U.S.
Playing career
1921–1924Purdue
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1927–1935Earlham
1935–1938Tennessee
1938–1942Cornell
1946–1947Connecticut
1947–1952Washington University
1953–1959Washington University
Head coaching record
Overall313–211
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
First-team All-Big Ten (1922)

Burton Blair Gullion (December 22, 1901 – January 30, 1959) was an American college basketball player and coach. He was head coach for Earlham College, the University of Tennessee, Cornell University, the University of Connecticut and Washington University in St. Louis. He was also a president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Guillion played college basketball for Purdue from 1921 to 1924, leading the Big Ten Conference in scoring in 1922. Following his playing career, Gullion coached at the high school level and in 1927 was named head coach for Earlham College. He coached there for eight seasons and led the program to its only undefeated season in school history, going 15–0 in the 1932–33 campaign.[1]

Following his time at Earlham, Gullion moved to Tennessee, where he went 47–19 over three seasons, and then Cornell, where he went 48–43 over four seasons. Gullion's coaching career was put on hold during World War II, as he served as a major in the Air Force, primarily overseeing physical education programs.[2]

After the war, Gullion was named head coach at Connecticut in 1946 and was named president of the NABC. He left to become head coach and athletic director for Washington University.[3] He led the basketball program for eleven seasons, compiling a 109–87 record from 1947 to 1959. Gullion died during his tenure as Bears' coach and AD on January 30, 1959, of a heart attack.

A respected basketball mind throughout his career, Gullion authored three books on the game and in 1971 was posthumously inducted to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.[1]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Tennessee Volunteers (SEC) (1935–1938)
1935–36 Tennessee 15–68–41st
1936–37 Tennessee 17–57–15th
1937–38 Tennessee 15–87–48th
Tennessee: 47–19 (.712)22–9 (.710)
Connecticut Huskies (New England Conference) (1945–1946)
1945–46 Connecticut 11–64–22nd
Connecticut Huskies (Yankee Conference) (1946–1947)
1946–47 Connecticut 4–21–1
Connecticut: 15–8 (.652)5–3 (.500)
Total:15–8 (.652)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. 1 2 "Coach Gullion provided many memories for EC". Palladium-Item. February 23, 1999. p. 9. Retrieved September 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ↑ "Hall of Fame coach to be buried here". The Rushville Republican. January 31, 1959. p. 19. Retrieved September 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ "Blair Gullion named Washington U. coach". The Star Press. December 24, 1946. p. 8. Retrieved September 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.