Glenn M. Curtis (March 4, 1894 – November 24, 1958) was an American basketball coach. He was the head coach at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

from 1938 to 1946. He won 122 games and led the Sycamores to three NAIA Tournaments, reaching the national title game in 1946. The Sycamores also won the Midwest Invitational Tournament in 1946. His career collegiate record is 122–45 (.724). He won 4 IHSAA State Titles; leading the 1917–18 Lebanon Tigers to their 2nd title; he later led the Martinsville Artesians to three titles. His most famous high school player; the legendary John Wooden.

Head coaching record

Head coaching notes

Indiana State University Sycamores

He succeeded Wally Marks and led the Sycamores to 8 consecutive winning seasons and three berths in the

NAIA Men's Basketball Championships The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics men's basketball national championship has been held annually since 1937 (with the exception of 1944 and 2020). The tournament was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for ...

(

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

& 1946); reaching the national quarterfinals in 1942 and the title game in 1946. He finished his career as the leader in wins and then recommended his old high school player and protégé John Wooden as his successor. Additionally, he served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

during his coaching tenure. In 1998, Curtis was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

High school

Prior to becoming a collegiate coach, Curtis, known as the 'Ole Fox' by his peers, spent 21 years as an Indiana High School coach. His first year as head coach came at Lebanon High School in

Lebanon, Indiana Lebanon (/ˈlɛbnən/) is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 15,792 at the 2010 census. Lebanon is located in central Indiana, approximately northwest of downtown Indianapolis and south ...

, the Tigers were coming off their first State Title; Curtis led to their second title. During his one-year stint, he went 28–2 (.933) and won the 1918 state championship. He then moved to Mooresville where he spent one semester, coaching approximately 10 games. At the Christmas break, he moved to nearby Martinsville. His Martinsville Artesians won 396 games and lost 139 (.740). During his tenure (1919 to 1938), they won 16 sectional championships, 14 regional championships and three state championships. Coaching players such as John Wooden and fellow Indiana Basketball Hall of Famers Lester Reynolds and Arnold Suddith, he won state titles in 1924, 1927, and 1933, with Wooden the star in 1927. The Artesians lost the state championship in 1926 and 1928. In the five years from 1924 through 1928, they were in the state championship game every year but 1925. He was the first Indiana high school coach (and one of four) to win four state championships. Curtis was the co-head coach with

Tony Hinkle Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle (December 19, 1899 – September 22, 1992) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletic administrator. He attended the University of Chicago, where he won varsity letters in three spo ...

of the first Indiana all-star team to play Kentucky and he also coached six ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

'' all-star teams. He never had a losing season as a coach, and in 19 years at Martinsville, his teams won 16 sectional championships (the opening round of the state playoffs) and 14 regional championships (the equivalent to making the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.) He returned to the high school ranks as the Martinsville Superintendent of Schools from 1948–1955. Curtis died in 1958. The Martinsville High School Gymnasium was named in his honor in 1959. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs.

Professional leagues

He moved on to the professional ranks, briefly coaching the Detroit Falcons of the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Curtis was fired midseason after posted a 12–22 record, his first losing season as a head coach at any level. He later coached the

Indianapolis Jets The Indianapolis Jets were a Basketball Association of America (BAA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded as the Indianapolis Kautskys and used that name until the team joined the BAA. They played for one year in the BAA and then ceased o ...

of the National Basketball League for one season and finished with a record of 24–35. They still qualified for the playoffs but lost the opening round series one game to three in a best-of-four series. The Jets then joined the BAA but Curtis retired from coaching and returned to Martinsville as the Superintendent of Schools.

Indiana High School All-Stars

He was the first head coach for the Indiana All-Stars (an annual all-state team of seniors only, sponsored by the

. The team faces a similar team from Kentucky; game proceeds are donated to charity. Curtis led the All-Stars to victory in each game he coached (6–0); he coached renowned players such as Johnny Wilson, Max Pearsey,

Clyde Lovellette Clyde Edward Lovellette ( ; September 7, 1929 – March 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the first basketball player in history to ...

, Ray Ragelis and Bill Garrett.

High school

21 seasons 3 schools 424–141 ; 4 State Titles (1918, 1924, 1927, 1933)

References

External links

Glenn Curtis
at basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Glenn M. 1894 births 1958 deaths Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Detroit Falcons (basketball) coaches High school basketball coaches in Indiana Indiana State Sycamores athletic directors Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball coaches Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball players People from Morgan County, Indiana American men's basketball players