John E. Erickson (Wisconsin politician)
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John Elmer Erickson (June 19, 1927 – March 18, 2020) was an American basketball coach and executive who was the first general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the losing Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
.


Background

Erickson was born in
Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
on June 19, 1927. He played on the Rockford East High School basketball and tennis teams. Erickson graduated from college in 1949 after being a Little All-American basketball player for
Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...
. He was the college's first player to score over 1000 points in a career that spanned three full seasons and two half seasons. He also represented the college for three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tennis tournaments. Erickson died on March 18, 2020, at the age of 92 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.


Career

After college, he coached high school basketball teams at Beloit, Wisconsin and Stevens Point, Wisconsin that advanced to the state competition. Erickson was drafted in 1953, serving for two years in the United States Army. He began coaching college basketball at Lake Forest College, compiling 34 wins and 38 losses for three seasons between 1955 and 1958. He served as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison for the 1958–59 season. The following year, he succeeded
Bud Foster Robert Eugene "Bud" Foster Jr. (born July 28, 1959) is a retired American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as a Special Assistant to Athletics Director Whit Babcock. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Br ...
as head coach, and compiled a 100–114 record in nine seasons. His 1961 and 1962 teams finished second in the Big Ten Conference, the only times they would finish higher than fourth in Big Ten play from 1950 to 1998. His 1962 team upset an Ohio State team that was ranked number one at the time and led by Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek. He remained at Wisconsin until he was hired as the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks expansion team on April 3, 1968. After Erickson resigned as the general manager, he won the Republican Party primary, but lost in his 1970 run for the United States Senate against incumbent William Proxmire.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1971,' Elections in Wisconsin, pg. 295, 311 After the loss, Erickson became president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a position that he held for 15 years. The
Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
hired Erickson to be its director of basketball in 1988, a position that he held until he was promoted to be the assistant commissioner.


Awards

Erickson is inducted in four halls of fame. He was inducted in the Lake Forest College hall of fame in 1989 and Beloit College's Hall of Honor in 1968.


Head coaching record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, John E. 1927 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Beloit Buccaneers men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Wisconsin Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches Military personnel from Illinois Milwaukee Bucks executives National Basketball Association general managers Sportspeople from Rockford, Illinois Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches Wisconsin Republicans United States Army soldiers