Forrest "Forddy" Anderson (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1999) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. He was the first coach in NCAA history to take two different teams to the Final Four; Bradley in 1950 and

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in 1957.

Early life

The

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

native led his Ralph W. Emerson High to an IHSAA Sectional title in 1937; he was recruited to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

by fellow Indiana native Everett Dean. Anderson was named All-Pacific Coast after the 1940–41 season; after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he joined the US Navy and spent two years at Great Lakes Training Facility, where he played basketball for Tony Hinkle.

Coaching career

After completing his Stanford degree in 1946, he was hired as the basketball coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hist ...

. Anderson was considered one of the most innovative coaches of his era and served a combined 24 seasons as head men's basketball coach at

(1946–1948), Bradley University (1948–1954),

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

(1954–1965) and

Hiram Scott College Hiram Scott College was a private liberal arts college that operated from 1965 to 1972 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Named after Hiram Scott (1805–1828), a fur trapper with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company who was found dead in the vicinity on his re ...

(1965–1970). Anderson twice led his Bradley teams to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Finals ( 1950 and

). His 1950 team also finished as the NIT runner-up. He moved to Michigan State, where his 1957 Big Ten Champion Michigan State club finished fourth in the NCAA tournament and his 1959 Michigan State team lost in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

(regional finals). He was fired in the spring of 1965, whereupon he was recruited to assist in creating the athletic department at

. After Hiram Scott closed its doors, he was the head coach of Peru's national team during the 1970–71

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

seasons. He then began a long career as a collegiate scout for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

during the 1980s and 1990s. He was instrumental in many of the Celtics' draft picks during that era.

Personal

Forddy Anderson and his wife Constance "Pat" Anderson were the parents of four children, Constance, Barbara, Forrest Jr. (Frosty) and Tracey. Anderson died on October 25, 1999, in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, at the age of 80, after suffering from complications due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

Head coaching record

References

1919 births 1999 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Bradley Braves men's basketball coaches College athletic directors in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Drake Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II {{1910s-US-basketball-bio-stub

Early life

Coaching career

Personal

Head coaching record

See also

References