Jack Ramsay

This article is about the basketball coach. For the Canadian politician, see Jack Ramsay (politician).

Jack T. Ramsay
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Former coach
Biographical details
Born	February 21, 1925 (1925-02-21) (age 86)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1955-1966 1968-1972 1972-1976 1976-1986 1986-1988	Saint Joseph's Hawks Philadelphia 76ers Buffalo Braves Portland Trail Blazers Indiana Pacers
Head coaching record
Overall	NBA: 864-783 (.525)[1]
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Portland Trail Blazers (1976-1977)
Awards
Enshrined into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1992) Top 10 Coaches in NBA History (1996)[2]
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1992

Jack T. Ramsay (born February 21, 1925, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American former basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" (as he holds an earned doctorate, see below). He is best known for coaching the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Title, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. Ramsay is among the most respected coaches in NBA history^[2] and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Education

Ramsay graduated from Upper Darby High School (UDHS) in 1942. He was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1979.^[3] He received his bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's College in 1949, and his masters and doctorate degrees (the latter in education) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and 1963, respectively.

Coaching career

College

After coaching in the high school and minor-league ranks for the early postwar years, he became head coach at his alma mater, Saint Joseph's College, in 1955. In his first season, Ramsay would lead the Hawks to their first Big 5 crown and their first-ever postseason berth (in the NIT). Ramsay would remain there through 1966, leading the Hawks to six more Big 5 crowns and ten postseason appearances (including a Final Four) in all.

Professional

Immediately after leaving Saint Joseph's, he was hired as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, who won an NBA title in his first season in the front office. In 1968, he left the front office to take over as head coach of the Sixers. In his four seasons as coach, he led the team to three playoff appearances. However, he traded away future Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Chet Walker. While these trades may have made sense on paper, Ramsay got very little in return. While the Sixers continued to contend during his tenure on the bench, it was obvious that they were nowhere near the powerhouse they had once been. The collapse came in 1971-72, when the Sixers tumbled to a 30-52 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in their history (dating all the way back to 1946, when they were still the Syracuse Nationals). After the season, Ramsay took the head coaching job with the Buffalo Braves. His tenure was almost a mirror image of his time with the Sixers—four seasons, three playoff berths; however, he did not leave Buffalo in the sort of wreckage that had occurred in Philadelphia.

His next coaching stop in the NBA was his most famous, with the Portland Trail Blazers. When he arrived in 1976, the Blazers had not made the playoffs or compiled a winning record in their six-year history. However, he arrived just as a young team, led by Bill Walton, started to gel, and also benefited from the ABA dispersal draft in the 1976 off-season, in which the Blazers picked up hard-nosed power forward Maurice Lucas. In his first season in Portland (1977), Ramsay led the Blazers to their first and only NBA title to date. In his second season, the Blazers were 50-10 after 60 games and favored to repeat as champions before the always-fragile Walton, in the midst of a season in which he would be named the league MVP, broke his foot, the first of numerous major injuries to his legs and ankles that radically shortened his career (though he managed to stay in the league until 1987). Ramsay continued to coach the Blazers until 1986 with general success, although he was never able to approach the level of his first seasons there. During his last nine seasons in Portland, the Blazers only won two playoff series. He also coached the Western Conference side in the 1978 All-Star Game.

Ramsay took over as coach of the Indiana Pacers for the 1986-87 season, leading them to only their second non-losing record as an NBA team. However, he was never able to duplicate that success, and was fired midway through the 1988-89 season. At that time, he was second on the all-time wins list for NBA coaches, trailing Red Auerbach.

Broadcasting and media

Ramsay later spent nine years as a television color commentator for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat, and continues to do NBA game commentary for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. At the end of the 2010-2011 NBA regular season, he inexplicably selected Manu Ginobili as the NBA MVP, when the clear frontrunner was Derrick Rose, with LeBron James a distant second. Many speculate that this decision was based on the time Ramsay saw Manu dive for a loose ball 4 feet away from his broadcaster's table, both saving the Spurs from a turnover, as well as providing a dazzling assist to teammate Tim Duncan. Dr. Jack worked for the Miami Heat from 1992 until 2002. The games were broadcast from South Florida's Sunshine Network (now Sun Sports), Fox Sports Florida, and sometimes local Miami station WBFS (then a UPN affiliate). Ramsay worked alongside announcer Eric Reid, who still works Miami Heat games. During Ramsay's tenure as the Heat's commentator, he developed some memorable nicknames and phrases for the Heat players. Whenever All-Star point guard Tim Hardaway would make a 3-point shot, Dr. Jack would shout, "this away, that away, Hardaway!" Or if any Heat player made a nice shot, you would hear Dr. Jack scream "bottom of the net!"

In addition to his TV and radio work, Ramsay has also authored several books, including The Coach's Art (ISBN 0-917304-36-5) and Dr. Jack's Leadership Lessons Learned From a Lifetime in Basketball (ISBN 0-471-46929-7).

Personal

Ramsay's son-in-law Jim O'Brien previously was head coach of the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers. Grandson Geoff Dailey played baseball at Wesleyan University.^{[citation needed]}

Ramsay is a cancer survivor, and a devout Roman Catholic.^[4]

Coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L%	Win-loss %
Post season	PG	Games coached	PW	Games won	PL	Games lost	PW–L%	Win-loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
PHI	1968–69	82	55	27	.671	2nd in East	5	1	4	.200	Lost in Division Semifinals
PHI	1969–70	82	42	40	.512	4th in East	5	1	4	.200	Lost in Division Semifinals
PHI	1970–71	82	47	35	.573	2nd in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
PHI	1971–72	82	30	52	.366	3rd in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
BUF	1972–73	82	21	61	.256	3rd in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
BUF	1973–74	82	42	40	.512	3rd in Atlantic	6	2	4	.333	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
BUF	1974–75	82	49	33	.598	2nd in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
BUF	1975–76	82	46	36	.561	2nd in Atlantic	9	4	5	.444	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
POR	1976–77	82	49	33	.598	2nd in Pacific	19	14	5	.737	Won NBA Championship
POR	1977–78	82	58	24	.707	1st in Pacific	6	2	4	.333	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
POR	1978–79	82	45	37	.549	4th in Pacific	3	1	2	.333	Lost in First Round
POR	1979–80	82	38	44	.463	4th in Pacific	3	1	2	.333	Lost in First Round
POR	1980–81	82	45	37	.549	3rd in Pacific	3	1	2	.333	Lost in First Round
POR	1981–82	82	42	40	.512	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
POR	1982–83	82	46	36	.561	4th in Pacific	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
POR	1983–84	82	48	34	.585	2nd in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
POR	1984–85	82	42	40	.512	2nd in Pacific	9	4	5	.444	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
POR	1985–86	82	40	42	.482	2nd in Pacific	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
IND	1986–87	82	41	41	.500	4th in Central	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
IND	1987–88	82	38	44	.463	6th in Central	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
IND	1988–89	7	0	7	.000	(resigned)	—	—	—	—	-
Career		1647	864	783	.525		102	44	58	.431

References

1. ^ "Jack Ramsay". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/ramsaja99c.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. http://www.nba.com/history/top_10_coaches.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
3. ^ "Upper Darby High School Wall of Fame". Upper Darby School District. http://www.udsd.k12.pa.us/alumni/wof.php. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
4. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ramsay_drjack&page=drjackexcerpt

Persondata
Name	Ramsay, Jack
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1925-02-21
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Date of death
Place of death