Norman Westbrook Shepard (August 20, 1897 – August 22, 1977) was a head coach of various college athletics at several American colleges and universities. He is best known for being the only
Division I 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 ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
to go undefeated in his first season coaching.
His
1923–24 Tar Heels team finished the season with a 26–0 record
and was retroactively named the national champion by the
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
and the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll
The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons.
The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
.
Background and family
He was born Norman Westbrook Shepard, third son of Alexander Hurlbutt Shepard and Mary Augusta Westbrook.
Shepard attended the University of North Carolina and after graduating played minor league baseball for a time.
Before becoming a head coach, Shepard spent three years abroad in France during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in the United States army as an
artilleryman
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...
.
In 1928, he married Edith Ruckert, of Brooklyn, NY, in Peking, China.
Norman's family had various ties to athletics at North Carolina. His brother,
Bo Shepard
George Edward "Bo" Shepard (September 18, 1904 – May 8, 1983) was an American basketball coach. he served as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team from 1931 to 1935.
Early life and family
Shepard was the seventh ...
, became the head coach for North Carolina after Norman, and two of his other brothers, Caryle Shepard and Alex Shepard, played basketball for North Carolina.
Coach of North Carolina Tar Heels
Shepard decided to accept the head coaching job for the Tar Heels while planning to attend law school on the side.
When Shepard took over, the Tar Heels had been without a head coach for the previous two seasons.
Even though the Tar Heels had been without a head coach for the previous seasons, they had managed to win the
Southern Conference Tournament at the end of the 1921–22 season and tied for first in the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
during the 1922–23 season.
When Shepard took over the team, he inherited a well-rounded Tar Heel squad that included returning senior
Cartwright Carmichael
Richard Cartwright "Cart" Carmichael (December 5, 1902December 12, 1960) was a college basketball player. He was the first member of the North Carolina Tar Heels to earn All-America honors in any sport, when he was named to the 1923 first team for ...
, who was the first North Carolina All-American in any sport, and
Jack Cobb
John Blackwell "Sprat" Cobb (August 4, 1904 – September 9, 1966) was an American college basketball player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cobb is one of eight Tar Heels basketball players who have had their jersey retired, ...
, who would later be named to the All-American team and would later have his number retired at North Carolina.
Shepard's North Carolina team earned the nickname the "White Phantoms" because of their fast playmaking and defense.
The 1923–24 Tar Heels squad managed to win all 26 games they played that year. Because there was no national post-season tournament, the Tar Heels final game was in the Southern Conference tournament against the
University of Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tar Heels managed to win the game 26–18. The local news reported that hundreds of students at North Carolina "waited in the streets in front of telegraph offices and cafes" for news about the game and after the victory students "went wild" and set a
bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
on the athletic field.
In 1936, the
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
retroactively awarded a national championship to the team since there had been no organization to award national championships at the time.
Currently Shepard holds the title of being the only head coach to go undefeated in his first year of coaching.
Living abroad
After coaching North Carolina for one season, Shepard went to the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
to work as a sales manager for
Liggett and Meyer tobacco company.
While abroad, he played for and coached a basketball team in the
Far Eastern Olympics.
Shepard married his wife while in China and returned to the United States after being abroad for five years.
Return to coaching
After returning to the United States, Shepard took coaching jobs at
Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
,
Randolph College
Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational.
The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; â ...
,
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan†...
and finally
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
where he coached baseball, basketball and football.
He retired from being the head coach in 1968.
Head coaching record
Football
Basketball
References
General
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Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Norman
1897 births
1977 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
United States Army personnel of World War I
Davidson Wildcats athletic directors
Davidson Wildcats baseball coaches
Davidson Wildcats men's basketball coaches
Guilford College faculty
Guilford Quakers athletic directors
Guilford Quakers football coaches
Guilford Quakers men's basketball coaches
Harvard Crimson baseball coaches
Harvard Crimson men's basketball coaches
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players
People from Marion, South Carolina
Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets athletic directors
Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football coaches
Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets men's basketball coaches