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 (appro ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach. He served as the head basketball coach at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

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 pre ...

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 the 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 its ...

. In 1890, Lambert and his family moved to

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville () is a city in Montgomery County, Indiana, Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The c ...

. He played basketball and baseball at

Crawfordsville High School Old Crawfordsville High School is a former public high school erected in 1910 on East Jefferson Street in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana. It was a part of the Crawfordsville Community Schools. The old building was expanded in 1914, ...

and

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

, both under coach

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 to 1932, leading them to the ...

, who himself went on to coach Purdue in 1909.

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach

Jesse Harper Jesse Clair Harper (December 10, 1883 – July 31, 1961) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Alma College (1906–1907), Wabash College (1909–1912), a ...

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 positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

to hog the ball. He graduated from

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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

titles. His teams were noted for their speed and effective use of fast breaks, which he developed. Among his players were Stretch Murphy 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) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

. Meanwhile, J. J. Maloney, an attorney from

, 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 The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...

and the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. He coached 16

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 Mackey Arena is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Part of the Purdue University campus, it is home to the university's basketball teams, and occasionally hosts home games for the volleyball and wrestling teams. The arena opened in 1967 as a repl ...

, was renamed in his honor. Lambert is now third on Purdue's all-time wins list behind

Gene Keady Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 t ...

and current head coach

Matt Painter Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball, Purdue Boilermakers, serving in that role since 2005. He played ...

. Lambert also coached Purdue's baseball team in 1917, from 1919 to 1935, and from 1945 to 1946.

Lambert Field St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary international airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the s ...

, 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, sect ...

for the

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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 ...

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 league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. 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 The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

in 2006.

Head coaching record

College basketball

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 20th-century American sportsmen