Norman Westbrook Shepard (August 20, 1897 – August 22, 1977) was a head coach of various college athletics at several American colleges and universities. He is best known for being the only Division I

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach to go undefeated in his first season coaching. His 1923–24 Tar Heels team finished the season with a 26–0 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.

Background and family

He was born Norman Westbrook Shepard, third son of Alexander Hurlbutt Shepard and Mary Augusta Westbrook. Shepard attended the University of North Carolina and after graduating played minor league baseball for a time. Before becoming a head coach, Shepard spent three years abroad in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the United States army as an

artilleryman Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to h ...

. In 1928, he married Edith Ruckert, of Brooklyn, NY, in Peking, China. Norman's family had various ties to athletics at North Carolina. His brother, Bo Shepard, became the head coach for North Carolina after Norman, and two of his other brothers, Carlyle Shepard and Alex Shepard, played basketball for North Carolina.

Coach of North Carolina Tar Heels

Shepard decided to accept the head coaching job for the Tar Heels while planning to attend law school on the side. When Shepard took over, the Tar Heels had been without a head coach for the previous two seasons. Even though the Tar Heels had been without a head coach for the previous seasons, they had managed to win the Southern Conference Tournament at the end of the 1921–22 season and tied for first in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

during the 1922–23 season. When Shepard took over the team, he inherited a well-rounded Tar Heel squad that included returning senior Cartwright Carmichael, who was the first North Carolina All-American in any sport, and Jack Cobb, who would later be named to the All-American team and would later have his number retired at North Carolina. Shepard's North Carolina team earned the nickname the "White Phantoms" because of their fast playmaking and defense. The 1923–24 Tar Heels squad managed to win all 26 games they played that year. Because there was no national post-season tournament, the Tar Heels final game was in the Southern Conference tournament against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tar Heels managed to win the game 26–18. The local news reported that hundreds of students at North Carolina "waited in the streets in front of telegraph offices and cafes" for news about the game and after the victory students "went wild" and set a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

on the athletic field. In 1936, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively awarded a national championship to the team since there had been no organization to award national championships at the time. Currently Shepard holds the title of being the only head coach to go undefeated in his first year of coaching.

Living abroad

After coaching North Carolina for one season, Shepard went to the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

to work as a sales manager for Liggett and Meyer tobacco company. While abroad, he played for and coached a basketball team in the Far Eastern Olympics. Shepard married his wife while in China and returned to the United States after being abroad for five years.

Return to coaching

After returning to the United States, Shepard took coaching jobs at Guilford College, Randolph College,

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

and finally

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he coached baseball, basketball and football. He retired from being the head coach in 1968.

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

References

General * * * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Norman 1897 births 1977 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players United States Army personnel of World War I Davidson Wildcats athletic directors Davidson Wildcats baseball coaches Davidson Wildcats men's basketball coaches Guilford College faculty Guilford Quakers athletic directors Guilford Quakers football coaches Guilford Quakers men's basketball coaches Harvard Crimson baseball coaches Harvard Crimson men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players People from Marion, South Carolina Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets athletic directors Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football coaches Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen