Forrest "Forddy" Anderson (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1999) 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 (appro ...

coach. He was the first coach in NCAA history to take two different teams to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

; Bradley in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

Early life

The

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

native led his Ralph W. Emerson High to an IHSAA Sectional title in 1937; he was recruited to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

by fellow Indiana native

Everett Dean Everett Sterling Dean (March 18, 1898 – October 26, 1993) was an American college basketball and baseball coach. Biography Born in Livonia, Indiana, Dean played basketball for three years at Indiana University, where he was also a member of th ...

. Anderson was named All-Pacific Coast after the 1940–41 season; after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he joined the US Navy and spent two years at Great Lakes Training Facility, where he played basketball for Tony Hinkle.

Coaching career

After completing his Stanford degree in 1946, he was hired as the basketball coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

. Anderson was considered one of the most innovative coaches of his era and served a combined 24 seasons as head men's basketball coach at

(1946–1948),

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,200 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in fiv ...

(1948–1954),

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(1954–1965) and Hiram Scott College (1965–1970). Anderson twice led his Bradley teams to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Finals (

and

). His 1950 team also finished as the NIT runner-up. He moved to Michigan State, where his 1957 Big Ten Champion Michigan State club finished fourth in the NCAA tournament and his 1959 Michigan State team lost in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

(regional finals). He was fired in the spring of 1965, whereupon he was recruited to assist in creating the athletic department at Hiram Scott College. After Hiram Scott closed its doors, he was the head coach of Peru's national team during the 1970–71

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

seasons. He then began a long career as a collegiate scout for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

during the 1980s and 1990s. He was instrumental in many of the Celtics' draft picks during that era.

Personal life

Forddy Anderson and his wife Constance "Pat" Anderson were the parents of four children, Constance, Barbara, Forrest Jr. (Frosty) and Tracey. Anderson died on October 25, 1999, in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, at the age of 80, after suffering from complications due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Forddy 1919 births 1999 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Bradley Braves men's basketball coaches College athletic directors in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Drake Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coaches Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Coaching career

Personal life

Head coaching record

See also

References