Kenneth D. Loeffler (April 14, 1902 – January 1, 1975) was an American collegiate and professional basketball coach. He was mostly known for guiding the La Salle Explorers men's basketball team to the

1952 National Invitation Tournament The 1952 National Invitation Tournament was the 1952 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. The 1952 tournament was won by La Salle University. Tom Gola and Norm Grekin were co-MVPs. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 ...

and

1954 NCAA basketball tournament The 1954 NCAA basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8 and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Ka ...

titles. After earning a Bachelor's degree at

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 campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

(1920–24) and a short pro basketball career (1924–29), the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania native began his collegiate coaching career at Geneva College (1928–35). In 1935 he became basketball head coach at Yale University, and also assistant coach to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and baseball varsity. In seven years at Yale Loeffler put up a 61–82 record. During World War II he served in the U.S. Air Force. After the war Loeffler began coaching pro teams in the

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 ...

, first the St. Louis Bombers (1946–48), then the Providence Steamrollers (1948–49). In 1949 he returned to the college ranks when he became head coach at La Salle. With players like future Hall of Famer Tom Gola, Loeffler's La Salle teams went on to dominate college basketball over half a decade in the early 1950s. In six seasons at La Salle, Loeffler led the Explorers to a post-season appearance in every single season. Under Loeffler, La Salle made four trips to the NIT (before it was considered "second-rate") and two visits to the NCAA tournament. In 1955 Loeffler moved on to become the head coach at Texas A&M College, a post he held until 1957. On October 1, 1964, Loeffler was elected to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. He died on January 1, 1975, of an apparent heart attack, in Rumson, New Jersey.

Head coaching record

College

Professional basketball

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loeffler, Ken 1902 births 1975 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Pennsylvania College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Denver Pioneers men's basketball coaches Geneva Golden Tornadoes men's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Penn State Nittany Lions basketball players Providence Steamrollers coaches St. Louis Bombers (NBA) coaches Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball coaches Yale Bulldogs baseball coaches Yale Bulldogs football coaches Yale Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Monmouth University faculty

Head coaching record

College

Professional basketball

See also

References

External links