John Ray Eddy (April 13, 1911 – September 20, 1986) was an American
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 and former player. He was the head men's basketball coach at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
from 1950 to 1965. He grew up in
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The relatively small city has provided a unique place for noted Modern architecture and public art, commissio ...
, where he starred on the
Columbus High School basketball team. After high school, he attended
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
, where he played basketball under head coach
Ward Lambert
Ward Louis "Piggy" Lambert (May 28, 1888 – January 20, 1958) was an American basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Purdue University during the 1916–17 season and from 1918 to 1946. Lambert was also the head ...
. As a 3-year starter, he won two undisputed Big Ten crowns, averaging 6.1 points per game over his career. In 1932 was the second leading scorer on the Helms National Collegiate championship team. In 1934, he was the captain and an All-Big Ten forward for the conference championship team.
When he accepted the Purdue University head coaching position, Eddy became the last head coach to jump directly from the high school ranks to the Big Ten.
Coaching career
High school
Following his graduation, Eddy was hired as the head coach in
Tell City, Indiana
Tell City is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Perry County.
History
Tell City traces its 150+ year old roots ...
. Eddy spent 5 seasons leading the
Marksmen
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...
, winning 3 Indiana High School Sectional titles. In 1939, Eddy moved to
Madison, Indiana
Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...
and became the head coach for the Madison Cubs. In his 11-year tenure at Madison, Eddy's teams totaled a record of 259–62 (.807), won 10 Sectionals, 6 Regionals, 3 Semi-States & 1 State Championship (1950), his 1941 and 1949 teams finished as the State Runner-Up.
In sixteen seasons at the high school level, Eddy's teams won 13 Sectionals, 6 Regionals, 3 Semi-States & 1 State Championship. In addition, he coached 7
Indiana All-Stars; 9 of his players were later inducted into the
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...
.
Eddy led three of his Madison Cubs teams (1940–41, 1948–49 and 1949–50) to the IHSAA State Finals. The third time proved the charm as the Cubs won the highly coveted title in 1949–50; the first two trips, the Cubs were the State Runner-Up.
Purdue University
Eddy placed a great deal of emphasis on the academic success of his players. During his 15 years at Purdue, he was able to attract a number of talented players, including All-Americans
Terry Dischinger
Terry Gilbert Dischinger (born November 21, 1940) is an American former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dischinger was a three-time NBA All-Star and the 1963 NBA Rookie of the Year, after averaging 28 points per gam ...
and
Dave Schellhase
David Gene Schellhase Jr. (born October 14, 1944) is a retired American collegiate basketball coach and former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
High school career
Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, Schellhase a ...
. While finishing as Big Ten runner-up on three occasions, Purdue failed to win the title during Eddy's tenure, and never advanced to postseason play.
Eddy's 176 wins rank fourth all-time at Purdue, as do his 15 years on the bench. In addition, Eddy ranks 4th all-time in Big Ten wins among Purdue coaches with 92. His 92 Big Ten wins currently rank 27th in 100+ years of Big Ten history.
In addition to All-Americans Dischinger and Schellhase; Eddy also coached 2 college football All-Americans: (
Lamar Lundy
Lamar J. Lundy, Jr. (April 17, 1935 – February 24, 2007) was an American defensive end with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for 13 seasons, from 1957 to 1969. Along with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and Rosey Grier, Lundy w ...
, the future NFL great,
Bob Griese
Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gries ...
, NFL Super Bowl Champion, Hall of Famer. )
Eddy also coached
Pete Brewster
Darrel Burton Brewster (September 1, 1930 – January 3, 2020), known as Pete Brewster, was an American football End (American football), end, Coach (sport), coach, and College football, collegiate football and College basketball, basketball play ...
, a 2x Pro Bowl TE for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and
Joe Campbell, former PGA Tour player and Purdue golf coach.
Several of Eddy's players went into coaching at the collegiate as well as high school level; the most well-known include Schellhase (Indiana State, Moorhead (Minn) State),
Joe Sexson
Joe Sexson (March 29, 1934 – April 30, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. He was the men's head coach at Butler Bulldogs, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1978 to 1989. He was the head baseball coach at Purdue ...
, (Butler) and
Mel Garland (IUPUI).
He retired from coaching after the 1964–65 NCAA_Division I basketball season and accepted a position as an Associate Athletic Director at Purdue. He retired from the Purdue Athletic Department following the 1977–78 academic year.
Head coaching record
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddy, Ray
1911 births
1986 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Basketball players from Indiana
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
High school basketball coaches in Indiana
People from Columbus, Indiana
Point guards
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players
People from Tell City, Indiana