John Longfellow

Who is John Longfellow?

John L. Longfellow is a former American basketball player. He was the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University.

He was an outstanding Indiana high school coach for the Hartford City Airdales, the Leesburg Blue Blazers and the Nappanee Bulldogs. However, his greatest success came with the Elkhart Blazers. All told, his teams won over 375 games and 24 state tourney titles in 19 years of coaching.

He moved to Indiana State University, replacing the legendary John Wooden. In his first season, he led the Sycamores to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, they finished 4th. In 1950, the Sycamores won the NAIA National Title. Based on their finish, the eligible Sycamores and Coach Longfellow were invited to represent the United States in the 1951 Pan-American Games. Longfellow served as Co-Head Coach and led the American squad to the Gold Medal, the first of many basketball Gold Medals in the Pan-American Games for the USA National Team.

While at Indiana State, he coached some of their most successful players; Duane Klueh, Dick Atha, Don McDonald, Sam Richardson, Lenny Rzeszewski, and Rob Royer. He is currently in 5th place in career in coaching victories. Stress-related heart problems led to his retirement from coaching early in the 1954-55 season, he moved into Athletic Administration at Indiana State.