Buck Read
Biographical details
Born(1880-02-08)February 8, 1880
Saxmundham, England
DiedAugust 15, 1970(1970-08-15) (aged 90)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1922–1949Western State Normal/ Western State Teachers/ Western Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall353–157

Herbert William "Buck" Read (February 8, 1880 - August 15, 1970) was an American basketball coach. He was the head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team from 1922 through 1949. He was also president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) from 1948 to 1949 and the chairman of its rules committee in 1937, 1938, and 1944.

Early years

Read was born in Saxmundham, England, in February 1880.[1] He immigrated to the United States in April 1880 at age two months.[2]

Read was the athletic director at Kalamazoo High School until he resigned in 1908.[3]

Western Michigan

Read worked for many years on the coaching staff of Western State Normal School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He became the school's second head basketball coach in 1922, replacing William H. Spaulding who served as basketball coach from 1913 to 1922. Read remained as the head basketball coach at Western State until 1949.[4]

Read has been credited with introducing the fast break to basketball during the 1929-1930 season.[5] (Others credit Frank Keaney with the innovation.[6]) He later recalled that the slow pace of the game made it difficult to attract fans when he learned of the popularity of the fast-paced game of hockey in Detroit.[7][5] "I made revisions in drills for faster ball handling and footwork. Then I changed from the zone defense to an advancing, interchanging, intercepting pattern of playing all over the floor. It was hard for the players to switch, but the new style was effective and popular from the start."[7] In the team's first year using the fast break approach, Read's team compiled a perfect 17-0 record.

Read also served for many years as an official of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He was elected president in March 1948 and serve in that position until March 1949.[8][9] He previously served for many years as a member of the NABC rules committee. He was chairman of the rules committee in 1937, 1938, and 1944, chairman of the research committee in 1943, and at other times secretary-treasurer and vice president.[8]

Read retired in 1949 with a 353–157 record (.692) in 28 seasons as head basketball coach at Western Michigan.[10] He received numerous honors for his contributions to the sport of basketball and athletics at Western Michigan. These include the following:

  • In June 1963, he was inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation's basketball hall of fame.[11]
  • In September 1963, the fieldhouse at Western Michigan University was named Read Fieldhouse in his honor.[12] Read was honored at a dedication ceremony in December 1963.[13]
  • In 1980, he was inducted into the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980.[14]

Family and death

Read and his wife, Gertrude, had a daughter, Mary, born in 1926.[15]

Read died in 1970 at age 90 in Newport Beach, California.[16] He was buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California.[17]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Western State Normal Hilltoppers / Western State Teachers Hilltoppers / Western State Broncos / Western Michigan Broncos (Independent) (1922–1947)
1922–23 Western State Normal 17–6
1923–24 Western State Normal 13–8
1924–25 Western State Normal 17–4
1925–26 Western State Normal 15–4
1926–27 Western State Teachers 16–2
1927–28 Western State Teachers 9–8
1928–29 Western State Teachers 10–9
1929–30 Western State Teachers 17–0
1930–31 Western State Teachers 14–3
1931–32 Western State Teachers 14–5
1932–33 Western State Teachers 14–3
1933–34 Western State Teachers 12–5
1934–35 Western State Teachers 11–5
1935–36 Western State Teachers 15–3
1936–37 Western State Teachers 13–4
1937–38 Western State Teachers 6–12
1938–39 Western State Teachers 7–10
1939–40 Western State Teachers 10–9
1940–41 Western State Teachers 9–9
1941–42 Western Michigan 12–8
1942–43 Western Michigan 15–4
1943–44 Western Michigan 15–4
1944–45 Western Michigan 8–10
1945–46 Western Michigan 15–7
1946–47 Western Michigan 17–7
Western Michigan Broncos (Mid-American Conference) (1947–1949)
1947–48 Western Michigan 12–101–25th
1948–49 Western Michigan 12–104–6T–3rd
Western State / Western Michigan: 345–1695–8
Total:345–169

References

  1. ↑ Draft Registration Card for Herbert William Read, resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, born February 8, 1880, in Saxmundham, England, employed at Western Michigan College. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line].
  2. ↑ Declaration of Intention, U.S. Department of Labor, Naturalization Service, dated March 14, 1917. Herbert William Read, born February 8, 1880, in Saxmundham, England, employed as an athletic instructor at the Y.M.C.A. Hotel at Wabash and 8th Ave. in Chicago. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 [database on-line].
  3. ↑ "Kazoo High Gets New Coach". Detroit Free Press. August 18, 1908. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Herbert W. Buck Read". SR/CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Buck Read Tells Origin Of Fast Break". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan). March 27, 1958. p. 18.
  6. ↑ Maury Klein (November 27, 1978). "Keaney Invented The Fast Break and Rhode Island Made The Big Time". Sports Illustrated.
  7. 1 2 "Buck Read Night Tonight: Former WMU Cage Mentor Rates Lang Among Best". The Battle Creek Enquirer and News. December 12, 1963. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Coaches Pick 'Buck' Read As President". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan). March 25, 1948. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Hoop Mentors Consider Rules". Statesman Journal. March 26, 1949. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Broncs Honor Read in Cage Retirement". Detroit Free Press. November 26, 1949. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Buck Read Honored". The Holland, Michigan, Evening Sentinel. June 5, 1963. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Honor Read: Fieldhouse At Western Is Renamed". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan). September 25, 1963. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Read to Be Honored At Western Thursday". The Holland, Michigan, Evening Sentinel. December 11, 1963. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Sidelines". The Battle Creek Enquirer and News. September 16, 1980. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ 1930 U.S. Census entry for Herbert W. Read, born in England, employed as a teacher at the State School in Kalamazoo. Census Place: Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Roll: 997; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0024; Image: 673.0; FHL microfilm: 2340732. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
  16. ↑ "'Buck' Read Dies at 90". The Holland (Michigan) Evening Sentinel. August 17, 1970. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Herbert William Read". Find-A-Grave.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
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