John Elmer Erickson (June 19, 1927 – March 18, 2020) 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 and executive who was the first general manager of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He was the losing

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for the U.S. Senate in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Background

Erickson was born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

on June 19, 1927. He played on the

Rockford East High School Rockford East High School (sometimes referred to as East) is a comprehensive four year high school of Rockford Public School District 205 in Rockford, Illinois. Opened in 1940 to replace Rockford High School, East opened simultaneous to Rockfo ...

basketball and tennis teams. Erickson graduated from college in 1949 after being a Little All-American basketball player for

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

. He was the college's first player to score over 1000 points in a career that spanned three full seasons and two half seasons. He also represented the college for three

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 an ...

(NCAA) tennis tournaments. Erickson died on March 18, 2020, at the age of 92 in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

Career

After college, he coached high school basketball teams at

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

and

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

that advanced to the state competition. Erickson was drafted in 1953, serving for two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He began coaching college basketball at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

, compiling 34 wins and 38 losses for three seasons between 1955 and 1958. He served as an assistant coach for the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

for the 1958–59 season. The following year, he succeeded

Bud Foster Robert Eugene "Bud" Foster Jr. (born July 28, 1959) is a retired American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as a Special Assistant to Athletics Director Whit Babcock. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Br ...

as head coach, and compiled a 100–114 record in nine seasons. His 1961 and 1962 teams finished second in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, the only times they would finish higher than fourth in Big Ten play from 1950 to 1998. His 1962 team upset an

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

team that was ranked number one at the time and led by

Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a p ...

and

John Havlicek John Joseph Havlicek ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning List of NBA players with most championships, eight NBA championships, four of ...

. He remained at Wisconsin until he was hired as the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks expansion team on April 3, 1968. After Erickson resigned as the general manager, he won the Republican Party primary, but lost in his 1970 run for the United States Senate against incumbent

William Proxmire Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. He holds the record for being the longest-servi ...

.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1971,' Elections in Wisconsin, pg. 295, 311 After the loss, Erickson became president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a position that he held for 15 years. The

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

hired Erickson to be its director of basketball in 1988, a position that he held until he was promoted to be the assistant commissioner.

Awards

Erickson is inducted in four halls of fame. He was inducted in the Lake Forest College hall of fame in 1989 and Beloit College's Hall of Honor in 1968.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, John E. 1927 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Beloit Buccaneers men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Wisconsin Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches Military personnel from Illinois Milwaukee Bucks executives National Basketball Association general managers Sportspeople from Rockford, Illinois Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches Wisconsin Republicans United States Army soldiers