LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The sports world has lost a true legend; UCLA basketball coach John Wooden has passed away at the age of 99.

Wooden made his mark on the game behind the bench for the UCLA Bruins for 27 years and finished with a 620-147 record including 47 NCAA tournament wins. His overall career coaching record is 885-203, an astounding .813 winning percentage.

During that 27 year tenure as coach of the Bruins, Wooden had an unprecedented run of 7 consecutive titles from 1967through 1973 and a record 88-game winning streak in the early 1970s. During that stretch, Wooden guided his teams to four 30-0 seasons.

Wooden learned about challenge early in life when he was born on a farm that had no electricity or indoor plumbing. Although baseball was his favorite sport, Wooden was glued to the basketball rim that was nailed to a hayloft where he would shoot with his brother Maurice.

Those years of practice and dedication led to Wooden learning how to lead and win. In high school he was a member of a team that won the Indiana state championship in 1927 and later won a national college championship as an All-American at Purdue his senior season.

Building a strong reputation as a coach, Wooden attracted star players that included Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes that led to the dominated runs.

Wooden is the only person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC