Chuck Daly
Chuck Daly | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | May 9, 2009 Jupiter, Florida, United States | (aged 78)
Charles Jerome "Chuck" Daly (July 20, 1930 – May 9, 2009[1]) was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) Championships in 1989 and 1990, and the Dream Team to the men's basketball gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He had a 14-year NBA coaching career.
Early life
Born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, to Earl and Geraldine Daly on July 20, 1930, Daly attended Kane Area High School in nearby Kane. He matriculated at St. Bonaventure University for one year before transferring to Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1952.[2] After serving two years in the military,[1] he began his basketball coaching career in 1955 at Punxsutawney (PA) High School.
College Career
After compiling a 111–70 record in eight seasons[2] at Punxsutawney (PA) High School, Daly moved on to the college level in 1963 as an assistant coach under Vic Bubas at Duke University. During his six seasons at Duke, the Blue Devils won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and advanced to the Final Four, both in 1964 and 1966.[3] Daly then replaced Bob Cousy as head coach at Boston College in 1969. The Eagles recorded an 11–13 record in Daly's first year at the school, and improved to 15–11 in 1971.[4]
Daly became the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, succeeding Dick Harter. Penn won twenty or more games and captured the Ivy League title in each of its first four seasons with Daly at the helm.[5] The most successful campaign was his first in 1972, when the Quakers recorded a 25–3 record overall (13–1 in their conference), and advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final, eventually losing to North Carolina.[6] An additional significant success for Daly was in 1979, when all five starters on Pennsylvania's Final Four team had initially been recruited by Daly[5]. His overall record after six seasons at the University of Pennsylvania was 125–38 (74–10 within the Ivy League).
NBA/Int'l career
In 1978, Daly joined the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach. During the 1981 season, he was hired as head coach by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was fired before the season ended. He then returned to the 76ers as a broadcaster until he was hired in 1983 by the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons, a club that had never recorded back-to-back winning seasons before Daly's tenure, made the NBA playoffs each year he was head coach (1983-1992), as well as reaching the NBA finals three times, winning two consecutive NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. While serving as the Pistons coach, Daly was also a color commentator for TBS's NBA Playoff coverage.
Daly was named head coach of the U.S. "Dream Team" that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, before moving his NBA career onto the New Jersey Nets for the 1992-93 NBA season. Daly stayed with the Nets for two seasons, before his first retirement.
Daly again took up a role as colour commentator for TNT's NBA coverage during the mid-1990's before coming out of retirement to coach the Orlando Magic at the beginning of the 1997-98 season. Daly stayed two seasons with the Magic and then retired permanently.
Daly coached a total of 14 NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic. He compiled a 564–379 (.598) career record, 13th best among all coaches and ninth best by percentage. On the combined NBA/ABA victory list, Daly's 564 wins places him 17th all-time. His 74–48 playoff record ranks fourth best in NBA history by wins and eighth best by percentage (.607). He is the only Hall of Fame coach to win both an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal.
Death
Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2009, which he died of on May 9, 2009, at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife Terry and their daughter Cydney. He is buried at Riverside Memorial Park in Tequesta,Florida. [7]
College coaching record
Season | School (Conference) | Overall Record | Conference Record (Position) | Postseason Tournaments |
---|---|---|---|---|
1969–70 | Boston College (independent) | 11–13 | ||
1970–71 | Boston College (independent) | 15–11 | ||
1971–72 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 25–3 | 13–1 (1st) | NCAA, Regional Final |
1972–73 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 21–7 | 12–2 (1st) | NCAA, Second Round |
1973–74 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 21–6 | 13–1 (1st) | NCAA, First Round |
1974–75 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 23–5 | 13–1 (1st) | NCAA, First Round |
1975–76 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 17–9 | 11–3 (2nd) | |
1976–77 | Pennsylvania (Ivy League) | 18–8 | 12–2 (2nd) | |
Totals | 8 seasons | 151–62 | 74–10 |
Professional coaching record
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CLE | 1981–82 | 41 | 9 | 32 | .220 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
DET | 1983–84 | 82 | 49 | 33 | .598 | 2nd in Central | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in First Round |
DET | 1984–85 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 2nd in Central | 9 | 5 | 4 | .566 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
DET | 1985–86 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 3rd in Central | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
DET | 1986–87 | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 2nd in Central | 15 | 10 | 5 | .667 | Lost in Conf. Finals |
DET | 1987–88 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 1st in Central | 23 | 14 | 9 | .609 | Lost in NBA Finals |
DET | 1988–89 | 82 | 63 | 19 | .768 | 1st in Central | 17 | 15 | 2 | .882 | Won NBA Championship |
DET | 1989–90 | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 1st in Central | 20 | 15 | 5 | .750 | Won NBA Championship |
DET | 1990–91 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 2nd in Central | 15 | 7 | 8 | .467 | Lost in Conf. Finals |
DET | 1991–92 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Central | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in First Round |
NJN | 1992–93 | 82 | 43 | 39 | .524 | 3rd in Atlantic | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in First Round |
NJN | 1993–94 | 82 | 45 | 37 | .549 | 3rd in Atlantic | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
ORL | 1997–98 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 5th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
ORL | 1998–99 | 50 | 33 | 17 | .660 | 1st in Atlantic | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
Career | 1075 | 638 | 437 | .593 | 126 | 75 | 51 | .595 |
References
- ^ a b Lage, Larry (2009-05-09). "NBA, Olympic coaching great Chuck Daly dies". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- ^ a b Official NBA Register. 2003–04 Edition. St. Louis, MO: The Sporting News, 2003.
- ^ "Former Duke Assistant/NBA Coaching Legend Chuck Daly Passes Away," Duke University Sports Information Department, Saturday, May 9, 2009.
- ^ Boston College 2008–09 Men's Basketball Media Guide.
- ^ a b University of Pennsylvania 2008–09 Men's Basketball Media Guide.
- ^ "Chuck Daly Passes Away at Age 78," University of Pennsylvania Athletics, Saturday, May 9, 2009.
- ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=36891150 Find a Grave Record
External links
- 1930 births
- 2009 deaths
- American basketball coaches
- American basketball players
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Basketball players from Pennsylvania
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania alumni
- Boston College Eagles men's basketball coaches
- Cancer deaths in Florida
- Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Deaths from pancreatic cancer
- Detroit Pistons head coaches
- Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches
- National Basketball Association broadcasters
- National Basketball Association head coaches
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- New Jersey Nets head coaches
- Orlando Magic head coaches
- Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches
- People from Elk County, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches
- St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball players