Tom Blackburn (basketball)

Leonard Thomas "Tom" Blackburn (January 23, 1906 – March 6, 1964) was an American basketball coach. The Peebles, Ohio native served as head men's basketball coach at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, from 1947 until his death in 1964.

Early life

Tom Blackburn was born in 1906. He worked as a steelworker for two years before enrolling at Wilmington College where he played football, basketball and baseball. After graduation, he coached high school basketball for four years at West Carrollton, Ohio and eight seasons at Xenia, Ohio Central High School, where six of his eight teams won championships, including the state title in 1942.

In World War II, Blackburn joined the Navy physical education program at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After the war, he became a golf pro in North Carolina.

Head Coaching Experience

Coach Tom Blackburn became head basketball coach at the University of Dayton in 1947, inheriting a moribund team that had won seven total games over the previous two seasons. Blackburn's insistence on strict discipline within his program helped lift Dayton to national prominence in the following years. Blackburn's second team finished with a winning record and was invited to the National Catholic Invitational post-season tournament. Two years later, Blackburn's Flyers would receive the first of 10 NIT invitations. Blackburn established Dayton as a national college basketball powerhouse through the 1950s and early 1960s, advancing to the NIT Finals six times in what at the time was regarded as the more prestigious post season college basketball tournament [http://www.collegesports.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/dayt/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/postseason] . Blackburn established a 352-141 record (.714) in 17 seasons as the Flyers head coach, held a 22-12 record (.647) in postseason play, and won an NIT championship in 1962. Blackburn fell ill with cancer during the 1963-64 season, but coached the Flyers through all but the final three games before turning coaching duties over to assistant coach Don Donoher. Blackburn died on March 6, 1964, eight days after his last game on the Flyer's bench.

Awards and Recognition

The University of Dayton inducted Blackburn into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 1969 [http://daytonflyers.collegesports.com/hallfame/dayt-hallfame.html] , and named the playing court at the University of Dayton Arena after their former coach [http://daytonflyers.collegesports.com/facilities/UDArena.html] . The winner of the annual Dayton-Xavier basketball game is awarded the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy, named for the two former basketball coaches at each university.

Sources

* "Tom Blackburn is Dead at 58; Coached Basketball at Dayton", "The New York Times", March 7, 1964, page 23.