1. Alfred James McGuire was an American college basketball coach and broadcaster, the head coach at Marquette University from 1964 to 1977.
20 Facts About Al McGuire
1. 2.
Al McGuire won a national championship in his final season at Marquette, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
3.
Al McGuire was well known as a longtime national television basketball broadcaster and for his colorful personality.
4.
Al McGuire played three years of basketball at St John's Prep, then located in Brooklyn, New York, and went on to star at St John's University, where he played for four years and captained the 1951 team that posted a mark and finished third in the NIT.
5.
Al McGuire rode the bench for the Bullets, playing just 98 minutes in ten games and scoring 23 points; actually, the record books don't even credit Al McGuire for those numbers.
6.
Several ex-Bullets hooked on with other NBA teams, but Al McGuire did not, ending his playing career.
7.
Al McGuire began his coaching career as an assistant at Dartmouth College for head coach Doggie Julian.
8.
Al McGuire then took his first head coaching job at Belmont Abbey College, in Belmont, North Carolina, where he recruited many high school players off the streets of New York.
9.
Al McGuire became head coach at Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1964 where he enjoyed success, including the NIT Championship in 1970 and a Final Four appearance in 1974 against the eventual champion NC State Wolfpack.
10.
Al McGuire served as athletic director for the program starting in 1973.
11.
Al McGuire led Marquette to its only NCAA basketball championship in 1977, his final season as a head coach.
12.
On December 17,1976, Al McGuire stunned fans by announcing that he would retire as coach after the end of the current season, to become vice chairman of Medalist Industries, effective May 1,1977; he had served on the board of directors of the sporting goods firm for six years.
13.
North Carolina coach and friend Dean Smith had stated that Al McGuire never intended to be a "lifer" as a coach.
14.
Al McGuire was an executive with the company for less than a year, resigning on March 20,1978.
15.
Al McGuire was courtside for the landmark 1979 championship game between Indiana State and Michigan State that pitted Larry Bird against Magic Johnson, which is remembered as a game that vastly enhanced the appeal of college basketball.
16.
Al McGuire announced his retirement from broadcasting after calling a matchup between Wisconsin and Indiana on March 5,2000.
17.
Al McGuire was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
18.
Al McGuire is not related to the late North Carolina and South Carolina coach Frank Al McGuire.
19.
Al McGuire was survived by his wife, Patricia, three children, sons Allie and Rob and daughter Noreen, and six grandchildren.
20.
From January to June 2017, the play entitled "Al McGuire" was presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, starring Tony Award winner Anthony Crivello.