John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional

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 ...

player and coach. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, Bach played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the 1948

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA) Draft, and played 34 games for the Celtics.

Career

In 1950, at age 26, Bach became one of the nation's youngest head coaches at a major college when he took over the coaching job at Fordham. He spent 18 years there, taking seven Ram teams to post-season tourneys. From 1968 to 1978, he coached at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, where he joined three old friends from Brown–

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

and

Joe McMullen Joe H. McMullen (May 9, 1924 – September 9, 1983) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He serve as the head football coach at Stetson University from 1950 to 1951, Washington & Jefferson College from 1952 ...

. Although he led the Nittany Lions to five winning seasons, he would never reach the postseason. Bach would later coach the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

for three years. He served as an interim coach in 1980, and then as the full-time coach from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Bach joined the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

as an assistant and became the architect of the "Doberman defense", the aggressive defensive effort led by

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

, and

Horace Grant Horace Junior Grant Sr. (born July 4, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for Michael Reinsdorf, the president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Bulls. He attended and played college baske ...

. After the team won three championships from 1991 to 1993, Bach moved on to coaching jobs with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. He returned to the Bulls in 2003, and retired in 2006.Shamus Tooney. "From courtside to art gallery – Bulls' Bach shows off watercolors". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. September 20, 2007. 12.

Later life

After retiring from basketball, Bach turned to painting. In 2007, thirty-two of his watercolors were put on display at the Sevan Gallery in

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

Death

Bach died on January 18, 2016 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

at the age of 91. Bach's funeral was held two days later on January 20, 2016 at the Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago. As a World War II US Navy Ensign he was buried at

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery covers in Elwood, Illinois. It is located approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois. When fully completed, it will provide 400,000 burial spaces. The cemetery was dedicated in 1999 by the United Stat ...

Elwood, Illinois Elwood is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,279 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Elwood is located at (41.413615, -88.110438). The nearest major highways are Interstate 80 to the north and Interst ...

BAA career statistics

Regular season

Head coaching record

College basketball

Professional basketball

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References

External links

BasketballReference.com: Johnny Bach (as coach)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Johnny 1924 births 2016 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City Basketball coaches from New York (state) Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches Chicago Bulls assistant coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Fordham Rams athletic directors Fordham Rams men's basketball coaches Fordham Rams men's basketball players Golden State Warriors head coaches Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Brooklyn Washington Wizards assistant coaches United States Navy officers Burials at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery