Lee Patton
Lee Patton (April 3, 1904 – March 8, 1950) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at West Virginia University from 1946 to 1950.[1][2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 3, 1904 Carbon, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 8, 1950 (aged 45) Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1946–1950 | West Virginia |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 91–26 |
The legendary coach Lee Patton was born in the small town of Carbon, Texas. After living in various rural Texas railroad construction camps, he attended Dallas High School (Dallas, TX) and Main Avenue High School (San Antonio, TX) where he excelled as a musician and as a star in football and basketball. He was a standout athlete at Sul Ross State Teachers College (now Sul Ross University) and at Northern Arizona State Teachers College (now Northern Arizona University) before landing his first coaching position at Ash Fork High School in Arizona.
After one highly successful year of coaching football, basketball, and baseball in Ash Fork, Patton accepted a similar position in West Virginia at Princeton High School, where he coached from 1930 to 1944. Throughout the Great Depression and most of WW2, Patton's teams in Princeton, West Virginia dominated the state in football and basketball. In 1944, Patton left Princeton High School to coach at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, NY where he enjoyed similar success.
In 1945, Patton was recruited by West Virginia University as head basketball coach. His record of 57 consecutive home wins at WVU remains unmatched, and his overall win/loss percentage of 77.8% remains unmatched by any WVU coach except for Fred Schaus (a former Patton player) who achieved a 79.8% record during his six year tenure.
Lee Patton is also credited with launching WVU's Golden Age of Basketball, with such WVU Sports Hall of Fame players as Leland Byrd, Clyde Green, Bobby Carroll, Fred Schaus, Eddie Beach, Jim Walthall, and Mark Workman.
Lee Patton was in his prime, just 45 years of age when he died at home in Morgantown on March 8,1950. He was taken by a stroke, the result of injuries sustained in a car crash that occurred while travelling to play Penn State on Valentines Day.[3] WVU's Golden Age of Basketball continued after his death with such stars as Hot Rod Hundley, Jerry West, and Rod Thorn.
References
[edit]- ^ "The Daily Mail from Hagerstown, Maryland on March 7, 1950 · Page 12". Newspapers.com. 1950-03-07. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ "Lee Patton". Wvusports.com. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ "Bluefield Daily Telegraph, March 9, 1950, p. 5". Newspaperarchive.com. 1950-03-09. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
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