Walter James McPherson (December 5, 1916 – January 12, 2013) was an American basketball coach and was regarded as one of the best at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, and former

West Coast Athletic Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

commissioner. McPherson graduated from San Jose State in 1939 and played as a fullback through 1936 and 1938 trained by

Dudley DeGroot Dudley Sargent DeGroot (November 10, 1899 – May 5, 1970) was an American athlete and coach, primarily of American football. He served as the head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 and 1945, tallyin ...

. He became a basketball coach and assistant football coach, he also managed to get his basketball team in the NCAA Tournament which was the team's first time in the tournament. He also taught

Carroll Williams Carroll Milton Williams (December 2, 1916 in Oregon Hill, Virginia October 11, 1991 in Watertown, Massachusetts) was an American zoologist known for his work in entomology and developmental biology—in particular, metamorphosis in insects, f ...

and Billy Wilson who also started their own sport careers. McPherson retired from coaching in 1960.

Personal life

McPherson was involved in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became a lieutenant in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He became a member of San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. McPherson died in 2013 in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

. He is survived by two children, including poet and

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

professor

Sandra McPherson Sandra Jean McPherson (born August 2, 1943) is an American poet. Born in San Jose, California, McPherson received her B.A. at San José State University, and studied at the University of Washington, with Elizabeth Bishop and David Wagoner. She c ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McPherson, Walt 1916 births 2013 deaths American men's basketball coaches American football fullbacks American men's basketball players American military personnel of World War II Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from San Jose, California San Jose State Spartans athletic directors San Jose State Spartans baseball coaches San Jose State Spartans baseball players San Jose State Spartans football coaches San Jose State Spartans football players San Jose State Spartans men's basketball coaches San Jose State Spartans men's basketball players West Coast Conference commissioners United States Navy officers Players of American football from San Jose, California