Ward Louis "Piggy" Lambert (May 28, 1888 – January 20, 1958) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

coach. He served as the head 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 ...

during the 1916–17 season and from 1918 to 1946. Lambert was also the head baseball coach at Purdue in 1917, from 1919 to 1935, and from 1945 to 1946. He was inducted into 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 ...

in 1960.

Early life and playing career

Lambert was born in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood ( Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had ...

. In 1890, Lambert and his family moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana. He played basketball and baseball at Crawfordsville High School and Wabash College, both under coach Ralph Jones, who himself went on to coach Purdue in 1909.

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 ...

coach Jesse Harper took over as Lambert's basketball coach in 1910 following the departure of Ralph Jones. Despite his height (5'6"), Lambert led Wabash in scoring his sophomore year—leading to his nickname "Piggy" for hogging the ball. Another telling states that, while playing baseball at Wabash, Lambert used his position as

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

to hog the ball. He graduated from Wabash College in 1911.

Coaching career

Lambert began his coaching career at Lebanon High School from 1912 to 1916, amassing a record of 69–18 (.793) a Sectional title and 3 other post-season appearances; including a berth in the State Semi-Finals in 1913-14. Lambert coached

(1916–17, 1918–1946) to a 371–152 record in 29 seasons, including 11

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

titles. His teams were noted for their speed and effective use of fast breaks, which he developed. Among his players were

Stretch Murphy Charles Carroll "Stretch" Murphy (April 10, 1907 – August 17, 1992) was an American basketball player. He played competitive basketball at Marion High School (1922–26), located in Marion, Indiana. The All-State player led his school ...

and

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as hea ...

. Lambert missed the 1917–18 season to serve in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Meanwhile, J. J. Maloney, an attorney from Crawfordsville, Indiana, filled in and guided the Boilermakers to an 11–5 record. Lambert's 1931–32 team finished the season with a 17–1 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. He coached 16 All-Americans and 31 first team All-Big Ten selections.

Lambert Fieldhouse Lambert Fieldhouse is an athletic facility on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was built in 1937 on land bought by David Ross and George Ade (the namesakes of nearby Ross–Ade Stadium) as a replacement for Memoria ...

(originally known as Purdue Fieldhouse), the facility used for home basketball games prior to the construction of Mackey Arena, was renamed in his honor. Lambert is now third on Purdue's all-time wins list behind Gene Keady and current head coach Matt Painter. Lambert also coached Purdue's baseball team in 1917, from 1919 to 1935, and from 1945 to 1946. Lambert Field, Purdue's former baseball stadium, is also named for Lambert.Lambert Field (Baseball)
at purduesports.com, URL accessed October 24, 2009

10/24/09 He was listed as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

in 1948.Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., ''1948 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book.'' St. Louis

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

Administrative career, writing, and honors

Following his retirement from Purdue, he served as Commissioner of the National Basketball League during the final three years (1946–1949) of that league's tenure and was instrumental in its merger with the Basketball Association of America to form the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

. Lambert wrote ''Practical Basketball'' in 1932, one of the first "bibles" of the game. He was inducted into the

in 1960 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Ward 1888 births 1958 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players United States Army personnel of World War I American sports executives and administrators Baseball players from Indiana Baseball shortstops Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball executives Basketball players from Indiana College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Crawfordsville High School alumni High school basketball coaches in the United States Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Yankees scouts People from Deadwood, South Dakota Players of American football from Indiana Point guards Purdue Boilermakers baseball coaches Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches Sports commissioners United States Army officers Wabash Little Giants baseball players Wabash Little Giants basketball players Wabash Little Giants football players