University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Coach John Wooden to Be Honored with Commemorative U.S. Stamp
November 30, 2023 | Men's Basketball
A commemorative and limited edition stamp honoring former UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden will go on sale in early 2024, as announced on Thursday morning by the U.S. Postal Service.
Coach Wooden, who led the UCLA men's basketball program to 10 NCAA titles during a 27-year run as the program's decorated head coach, will be featured on this limited edition Forever stamp, which is expected to be available for one year. The U.S. Postal Service says that nearly 18 million stamps featuring an original portrait of Wooden will be printed.
"This stamp is a tribute to Coach Wooden's remarkable and widespread impact, which extends far beyond UCLA and far beyond basketball," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. "His success on the court was unparalleled, and he remains a model of integrity and excellence in athletics. But the values he stood for and the timeless wisdom he shared have spread even further, influencing generations of leaders from all walks of life."
Wooden began his coaching tenure at UCLA in 1948 and retired in 1975, leading the Bruins' program to 10 NCAA titles during his final 12 seasons. He guided UCLA to an unprecedented seven consecutive NCAA championships from 1967 through 1973.
The new stamp depicts Wooden at courtside in the early 1970s, focused on a game and wearing a pinstripe suit, patterned tie and black-framed glasses. To the right of the image, which is based on a photo by ASUCLA photographer Norm Schindler, "Wooden" appears in gold, with "John" in blue.
In the stamp's background, one player attempts a jump shot as another tries block it. Those players' jersey numbers of 4 and 10 signify UCLA's four undefeated seasons under Coach Wooden (1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973) and the 10 NCAA championships that his teams won over the 12-season span from 1964 to 1975. Neither accomplishment has been replicated. The Bruins' 88-game winning streak from 1971 through 1974 remains the longest in the history of men's college basketball.
Wooden passed away in June of 2010 at the age of 99. In 2003, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
In 2006, Wooden had a post office in Reseda, Calif., named for him. He becomes the second college basketball coach to be honored with a postage stamp, the first being James Naismith, the game's inventor, who received a stamp in 1961. Coincidentally, Wooden was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a Purdue University player (1929-32) just a year prior, in 1960. In 1973, he was again a Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, this time as a coach, becoming the first person to be recognized in both of those roles.
During his career, Wooden – known widely as the "Wizard of Westwood" and to Bruins simply as "Coach" – was named the NCAA's College Basketball Coach of the Year six times. The John Wooden Center on the UCLA campus, the Nell and John Wooden Court in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's John Wooden Global Leadership Award are named in his honor. A bronze statue of Wooden, erected in 2012, stands at the north entrance to Pauley.
The U.S. Postal Service's commemorative stamps are intended to celebrate the American experience and "honor extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society, history, culture or environment." Individuals and subjects are proposed by the public, and the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee reviews submissions and recommends a number each year for approval by the U.S. postmaster general. Forever stamps can be used as postage in perpetuity.
