Coach John Wooden has just passed away at 99...
 

Simply the greatest coach of all time, in any sport, college or pro...

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It's amazing how much of an impact Coach Wooden had on his players. I've seen quite a few of his players interviewed over the years and they all say that the lessons he taught on the basketball court, were not just about basketball, but about life. He was a great coach and a great man. He will be missed.

Coach Wooden
 

Prior to my current occupation, I spent 11 great years in the restaurant business working as a waiter, captain and wine buyer. In my last harrah in the restaurant business, I acted as a captain and wine buyer for a fancy restaurant called The Ritz in Newport Beach, CA.

I recall working a large party of about 60-80 people in 1985 where the key note speaker was none other than Coach John Wooden. I made sure that I had an opportunity to listen to his speech as I was always a fan of UCLA basketball. His speech was impressive to say the least!

Afterwords, I had the opportunity to speak to him one on one. The impression that he left was so incredibly positive that it has never escaped me. He was bright, articulate and unbelievably humble.
The world will miss him greatly! God speed, John!

This may be my most prized possession:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/20935829@N00/4671209830/

RIP Coach

That may be the single greatest personal piece I've yet to see. The photo and it's story will no doubt be passed down in your family for generations to come.

Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Sincerely, Jimmy

godvls- that's a great photo. Can you still remember that moment?

Can't get much better than that...

Thanks guys. I honestly don't remember that exact moment. I remember going to the airport to greet the team (and my dad), I remember quite a large crowd at the airport and seeing some of the players, but I don't remember the meeting with Coach.

It frustrates me a bit that I don't remember it because there are so many things that I remember from that season and the season before when I went to my first UCLA game at the LA Sports Arena. I'm just so grateful that the moment was captured on film.