John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1948 Basketball Association of America (BAA) Draft, and played 34 games for the Celtics.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 10, 1924 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | January 18, 2016 (aged 91) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. John's Preparatory (New York City, New York) |
| College | Fordham (1943–1947) |
| BAA draft | 1948: – round, – |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Playing career | 1948–1950 |
| Position | Small forward / guard |
| Number | 17 |
| Coaching career | 1950–2006 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1948–1949 | Boston Celtics |
| 1949–1950 | Hartford Hurricanes |
| As coach: | |
| 1950–1968 | Fordham |
| 1968–1978 | Penn State |
| 1979–1983 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 1980 | Golden State Warriors (interim) |
| 1983–1986 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1986–1994 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) |
| 1994–1996 | Charlotte Hornets (assistant) |
| 1996–1998 | Detroit Pistons (assistant) |
| 2001–2003 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
| 2003–2006 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As Assistant Coach:
| |
| Career BAA statistics | |
| Points | 119 (3.5 ppg) |
| Assists | 25 (0.7 apg) |
| Games played | 34 |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Career
editIn 1950, at age 26, Bach became one of the nation's youngest head coaches at a major college when he took over the coaching job at Fordham.[citation needed] He spent 18 years there, taking seven Ram teams to post-season tourneys. From 1968 to 1978, he coached at Penn State, where he joined three old friends from Brown–Rip Engle, Joe Paterno and Joe McMullen. Although he led the Nittany Lions to five winning seasons, he would never reach the postseason.
Bach would later coach the Golden State Warriors for three years. He served as an interim coach in 1980, and then as the full-time coach from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Bach joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant and became the architect of the "Doberman defense", the aggressive defensive effort led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant.[1] After the team won three championships from 1991 to 1993, Bach moved on to coaching jobs with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. His stint with the Wizards reunited him with Michael Jordan. He returned to the Bulls in 2003, and retired in 2006.[2]
Later life
editAfter retiring from basketball, Bach turned to painting. In 2007, thirty-two of his watercolors were put on display at the Sevan Gallery in Skokie, Illinois.[2]
Death
editBach died on January 18, 2016, in Chicago at the age of 91.[3] Bach's funeral was held two days later on January 20, 2016, at the Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago.[4] As a World War II US Navy Ensign he was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.[5]
BAA career statistics
edit| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | ||||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | ||||
| FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||||
| APG | Assists per game | ||||
| PPG | Points per game | ||||
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–49 | Boston | 34 | .286 | .680 | .7 | 3.5 |
| Career | 34 | .286 | .680 | .7 | 3.5 | |
Head coaching record
editCollege basketball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham Rams (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1950–1963) | |||||||||
| 1950–51 | Fordham | 20–8 | 3–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 1951–52 | Fordham | 20–8 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1952–53 | Fordham | 19–8 | 4–2 | 3rd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 1953–54 | Fordham | 18–6 | 3–1 | 2nd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 1954–55 | Fordham | 18–9 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1955–56 | Fordham | 11–14 | 2–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1956–57 | Fordham | 16–10 | 2–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1957–58 | Fordham | 16–9 | 1–3 | 6th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1958–59 | Fordham | 17–8 | 2–2 | T–4th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1959–60 | Fordham | 8–18 | 1–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1960–61 | Fordham | 7–16 | 0–3 | 7th | |||||
| 1961–62 | Fordham | 10–14 | 1–3 | T–5th | |||||
| 1962–63 | Fordham | 18–8 | 4–1 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| Fordham Rams (Independent) (1963–1968) | |||||||||
| 1963–64 | Fordham | 9–11 | |||||||
| 1964–65 | Fordham | 15–12 | NIT First Round | ||||||
| 1965–66 | Fordham | 10–15 | |||||||
| 1966–67 | Fordham | 11–14 | |||||||
| 1967–68 | Fordham | 19–8 | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||||
| Fordham: | 265–193 (.579) | 29–30 (.492) | |||||||
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1968–1976) | |||||||||
| 1968–69 | Penn State | 13–9 | |||||||
| 1969–70 | Penn State | 13–11 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Penn State | 10–12 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Penn State | 17–8 | |||||||
| 1972–73 | Penn State | 15–8 | |||||||
| 1973–74 | Penn State | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1974–75 | Penn State | 11–12 | |||||||
| 1975–76 | Penn State | 10–15 | |||||||
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern 8) (1976–1978) | |||||||||
| 1976–77 | Penn State | 11–15 | 5–5 | T–1st | |||||
| 1977–78 | Penn State | 8–19 | 4–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| Penn State: | 122–121 (.502) | 9–11 (.450) | |||||||
| Total: | 387–314(.552) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Professional basketball
edit| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSW | 1979–80 | 21 | 6 | 15 | .286 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1983–84 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | 5th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1984–85 | 82 | 22 | 60 | .268 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| GSW | 1985–86 | 82 | 30 | 52 | .366 | 6th in Pacific | - | - | - | - | Missed Playoffs |
| Career | 267 | 95 | 172 | .356 | - | - | - | .- |
References
edit- ^ "Johnny Bach: Ace of Spades".
- ^ a b Shamus Tooney. "From courtside to art gallery – Bulls' Bach shows off watercolors". Chicago Sun-Times. September 20, 2007. 12.
- ^ K. C. Johnson (January 18, 2016). "Former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach dies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- ^ "Bulls greats pay their respects at Johnny Bach's funeral". Chicago Tribune. January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ "Bach, John William". Nationwide Gravesite Locator. National Cemetery Administration. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
