Sporting News Leaves John McDonnell/Arthur Lydiard Off List of 50 Greatest Coaches

Yanqui wrote:

If Marty Glickman was still around, you could ask him what he thought of Dean Cromwell, who kept Glickman and Sam Stoler off the U.S. 4x100-relay at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The answer wouldn't be pretty. Cromwell was more interested in appeasing Hitler than in being fair to two Jewish-American athletes.

Marty and I went to the same college. I understand his viewpoint, but the flipside is that the US coaches wanted Jesse to get a fourth gold (and the team to win gold, which they might not have with Stoller and Glickman). Moreover, there is some evidence that Cromwell was ordered by Avery Brundage to make the change.

Nevertheless, I agree that the relay change, and Cromwell's participation in it, was shameful. Doesn't change his position as greatest American track and field coach...

Earl Weaver being left off is a travesty. The man revolutionized baseball into what it is today.

james Jumbo Elliott above most mentioned already.

Wow. Y'all have a lot of free time.

rojo!

Master Splinter

From swimming: Doc Counsilman. Six straight NCAA team titles when he coached Indiana. When he was head coach of the US Olympic men's team in 1964 and 1972, his swimmers won 21 of 24 events at the Games. Credited with inventing the pace clock, applying interval training, and being the first to film swimmers for scientific study, and wrote his masters and PhD dissertations on the mechanics of swimming.

Also was, at one time, the oldest man to swim the English Channel.

I read the list of former athletes and coaches polled to create the list. They were exclusively from the "major" sports. Go figure. Based on that info that no track coaches were on the list should be no surprise.

Who cares about McDonnell & Lydiard.

Now if Bobby Kersee isn't on that list then it's bull.

Bobby has coached more Olympic and World Championships medalists than anyone.

jack daniels and bill bowerman

DaDaDouble wrote:

I read the list of former athletes and coaches polled to create the list. They were exclusively from the "major" sports. Go figure. Based on that info that no track coaches were on the list should be no surprise.

If it is for real "major" sports, then women's college basketball should not be there. It isn't any more "major" than soccer or lacrosse, and until the last decade or so it wasn't any more "major" than track or swimming.

Jackson over Auerbach? I disagree with that one and I am not a Celtics fan (nor a Bulls/Lakers fan either).

Herb Brooks? OK, "Miracle on Ice" I understand, but they put him as a NHL coach where he was 219-222-66 which is a losing record.

Looking at the list of 118 who picked the top 50 they all represent the big four sports - football, basketball, baseball and hockey. No wonder T&F coaches didn't make it.

Hockey isn't really a major sport (outside of maybe Detroit, the Twin Cities, Boston, and a few Canadian spots) and I'm not sure why it continues to get treated like one. The axiom here in NYC is that there are 18,000 people in the city who care about hockey and they're the 18,000 who go to Ranger games. Seriously, for most Americans, the sport isn't even on their radar.

Just sticking with the sports in question, it is inconceivable to have such a list without Clair Bee.

Bill Bowerman?

rojo wrote:

No track coaches at all on the list:

http://www.sportingnews.com/college-basketball/article/2009-07-29/sporting-news-50-greatest-coaches-all-time

Who deserves to be on there?

Always consider the source. The east coast media promote their own local concerns to sell copy the largest population centers which just so happen to be in the east. They have to meet the bottom line to satisfy shareholders and keep their jobs. All big media popularity polls have the same requirements.