Ken Loeffler

American basketball coach

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Ken Loeffler

Loeffler from the 1956 Aggieland

Biographical details
Born| (1902-04-14)April 14, 1902
Died| January 1, 1975(1975-01-01) (aged 72)
Rumson, New Jersey, U.S.
Playing career
1920–1924| Penn State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1928–1935| Geneva
1935–1942| Yale
1945–1946| Denver
1946–1948| St. Louis Bombers
1948–1949| Providence Steamrollers
1949–1955| La Salle
1955–1957| Texas A&M
Head coaching record
Overall| 320–213 (college)
79–90 (professional)
Tournaments| 9–1 (NCAA)
5–3 (NIT)
4–6 (BAA playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA (1954)
2 NCAA Final Four (1954, 1955)
NIT (1952)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1964 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Kenneth D. Loeffler (April 14, 1902 – January 1, 1975) was an American collegiate and professional basketball coach. He was mostly known for guiding the La Salle Explorers men's basketball team to the 1952 National Invitation Tournament and 1954 NCAA basketball tournament titles.

After earning a Bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University (1920–24) and a short pro basketball career (1924–29), the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania native began his collegiate coaching career at Geneva College (1928–35). In 1935 he became basketball head coach at Yale University, and also assistant coach to the football and baseball varsity. In seven years at Yale Loeffler put up a 61–82 record. During World War II he served in the U.S. Air Force.

After the war Loeffler began coaching pro teams in the Basketball Association of America, first the St. Louis Bombers (1946–48), then the Providence Steamrollers (1948–49). In 1949 he returned to the college ranks when he became head coach at La Salle. With players like future Hall of Famer Tom Gola, Loeffler's La Salle teams went on to dominate college basketball over half a decade in the early 1950s. In six seasons at La Salle, Loeffler led the Explorers to a post-season appearance in every single season. Under Loeffler, La Salle made four trips to the NIT (before it was considered "second-rate") and two visits to the NCAA tournament. In 1955 Loeffler moved on to become the head coach at Texas A&M College, a post he held until 1957.

On October 1, 1964, Loeffler was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He died on January 1, 1975, of an apparent heart attack, in Rumson, New Jersey.[1]

## Head coaching record

[edit]

### College

[edit]

Statistics overview  Season  | Team  | Overall  | Conference  | Standing  | Postseason

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Geneva Covenanters (Independent) (1928–1935)
1928–29  | Geneva  | 14–5 |  |  |
1929–30  | Geneva  | 10–9 |  |  |
1930–31  | Geneva  | 13–10 |  |  |
1931–32  | Geneva  | 14–7 |  |  |
1932–33  | Geneva  | 13–6 |  |  |
1933–34  | Geneva  | 13–9 |  |  |
1934–35  | Geneva  | 16–7 |  |  |
Geneva: | 93–53 (.637) |  |
Yale Bulldogs (Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League) (1935–1942)
1935–36 | Yale  | 8–16 | 6–6 | T–3rd |
1936–37 | Yale  | 12–8 | 7–5 | T–3rd |
1937–38 | Yale  | 7–12 | 3–9 | 7th |
1938–39 | Yale  | 4–16 | 3–9 | 6th |
1939–40 | Yale  | 13–6 | 7–5 | T–3rd |
1940–41 | Yale  | 10–12 | 4–8 | T–4th |
1941–42 | Yale  | 7–12 | 3–9 | 6th |
Yale: | 61–82 (.427) | 33–51 (.393) |
Denver Pioneers (Mountain States Conference) (1945–1946)
1945–46 | Denver  | 9–15 | 1–11 | 7th |
Denver: | 9–15 (.375) | 1–11 (.083) |
La Salle Explorers (Independent) (1949–1955)
1949–50 | La Salle  | 21–4 |  |  | NIT Quarterfinal
1950–51 | La Salle  | 22–7 |  |  | NIT First Round
1951–52 | La Salle | 24–5 |  |  | NIT Champion
1952–53 | La Salle  | 25–3 |  |  | NIT Quarterfinal
1953–54 | La Salle | 26–4 |  |  | NCAA Champion
1954–55 | La Salle | 26–5 |  |  | NCAA Runner-up
La Salle: | 144–28 (.837) |  |
Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1955–1957)
1955–56 | Texas A&M  | 6–18 | 3–9 | T–5th |
1956–57 | Texas A&M  | 7–17 | 3–9 | T–6th |
Texas A&M: | 13–35 (.271) | 6–18 (.250) |
Total: | 320–213 (.600) |

National champion Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion

### Professional basketball

[edit]

Legend  Regular season  | G  | Games coached  | W  | Games won  | L  | Games lost  | W–L %  | Win–loss %

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Playoffs  | PG  | Playoff games  | PW  | Playoff wins  | PL  | Playoff losses  | PW–L %  | Playoff win–loss %
Team  | Year  | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish  | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result

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SLB | 1946–47 | 61 | 38 | 23 | .623 | 2nd in Western | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333  | Lost in League Quarterfinals
SLB  | 1947–48 | 48 | 29 | 19 | .604 | 1st in Western | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429  | Lost in League Semifinals
PRO | 1948–49 | 60 | 12 | 48 | .200 | 6th in Eastern | - | - | - | \-  | Missed Playoffs
Career |  | 169 | 79 | 90 | .467 |  | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400

## See also

[edit]

* List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ken Loeffler, Who Led LaSalle To Basketball Titles, Dies at 72". The New York Times. January 3, 1975. Retrieved July 6, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Ken Loeffler at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

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Head coach
Ken Loeffler

* v
* t
* e

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1964

Players|

* Harold E. Foster
* Nat Holman
* Honey Russell

Coaches|

* Ken Loeffler

Contributors|

* John Bunn
* Ned Irish
* Renato William Jones

* v
* t
* e

Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Players|

| Guards|

* R. Allen
* Archibald
* Beckman
* Belov
* Bing
* Blazejowski
* Borgmann
* Braun
* Brennan
* Bryant
* Cervi
* Cheeks
* Clayton
* Cooper-Dyke
* Cousy
* Dampier
* Davies
* Drexler
* Dumars
* Edwards
* Endacott
* Frazier
* Friedman
* Galis
* Gervin
* Ginóbili
* Goodrich
* Greer
* Grentz
* Guerin
* Hammon
* Hanson
* Hardaway
* Haynes
* Holman
* Hyatt
* Isaacs
* Iverson
* Jeannette
* Jenkins
* D. Johnson
* M. Johnson
* K. Jones
* S. Jones
* Jordan
* Kidd
* Lieberman
* Maravich
* Marcari
* Marčiulionis
* Martin
* McDermott
* McGrady
* D. McGuire
* Meyers
* R. Miller
* Moncrief
* Monroe
* Moore
* C. Murphy
* Nash
* Page
* Parker
* Payton
* Petrović
* Phillip
* Posey
* Richmond
* Robertson
* Rodgers
* Roosma
* J. Russell
* Schommer
* Scott
* Sedran
* Sharman
* K. Smith
* Staley
* Steinmetz
* Stockton
* Swoopes
* Thomas
* D. Thompson
* Vandivier
* Wade
* Wanzer
* Weatherspoon
* West
* Westphal
* J. White
* Wilkens
* Woodard
* Wooden

|

Forwards|

* Arizin
* Barkley
* Barry
* Baylor
* Bird
* Bosh
* Boswell
* Bradley
* R. Brown
* Cash
* Catchings
* C. Cooper
* Cunningham
* Curry
* Dalipagić
* Dandridge
* Dantley
* DeBusschere
* Dehnert
* Duncan
* English
* Erving
* Foster
* Fulks
* Gale
* Garnett
* Gasol
* Gates
* Gola
* Hagan
* Havlicek
* Hawkins
* Hayes
* Haywood
* Heinsohn
* Hill
* Howell
* Hudson
* L. Jackson
* G. Johnson
* B. Jones
* King
* Korać
* Kukoč
* Lucas
* Luisetti
* K. Malone
* McClain
* B. McCracken
* J. McCracken
* McGinnis
* McHale
* Mikkelsen
* C. Miller
* Mullin
* Nowitzki
* Pettit
* Pierce
* Pippen
* Pollard
* Pullins
* Radja
* Ramsey
* Rodman
* Schayes
* E. Schmidt
* O. Schmidt
* Stokes
* C. Thompson
* T. Thompson
* Twyman
* Walker
* Webber
* N. White
* Wilkes
* Wilkins
* Worthy
* Yardley

Centers|

* Abdul-Jabbar
* Barlow
* Beaty
* Bellamy
* Chamberlain
* T. Cooper
* Ćosić
* Cowens
* Crawford
* Daniels
* DeBernardi
* Divac
* Donovan
* Ewing
* Gallatin
* Gilmore
* Griffith
* Gruenig
* Harris-Stewart
* Houbregs
* Issel
* Jackson
* W. Johnson
* Johnston
* M. Krause
* Kurland
* Lanier
* Leslie
* Lovellette
* Lapchick
* Macauley
* Maciel
* M. Malone
* McAdoo
* Meneghin
* Mikan
* Mourning
* S. Murphy
* Mutombo
* Olajuwon
* O'Neal
* Parish
* Reed
* Risen
* Robinson
* B. Russell
* Sabonis
* Sampson
* Semjonova
* Sikma
* Thurmond
* Unseld
* Wachter
* Wallace
* Walton
* Washington
* Whalen
* Yao

Coaches|

* Adelman
* Alexeeva
* P. Allen
* Anderson
* Auerbach
* Auriemma
* Barmore
* Barry
* Bess
* Blair
* Blood
* Boeheim
* L. Brown
* Calhoun
* Calipari
* Cann
* Carlson
* Carnesecca
* Carnevale
* Carril
* Case
* Chancellor
* Chaney
* Conradt
* Crum
* Daly
* Dean
* Díaz-Miguel
* Diddle
* Drake
* Driesell
* Ferrándiz
* Fitch
* Fitzsimmons
* Gaines
* Gamba
* Gardner
* Gaze
* Gill
* Gomelsky
* Gunter
* Hannum
* Harshman
* Haskins
* Hatchell
* Heinsohn
* Hickey
* Hixon
* Hobson
* Holzman
* Huggins
* Hughes
* Hurley
* Iba
* Izzo
* P. Jackson
* Julian
* Karl
* Keady
* Keaney
* Keogan
* Knight
* Krzyzewski
* Kundla
* Lambert
* Leonard
* Lewis
* Litwack
* Loeffler
* Lonborg
* Magee
* McCutchan
* McGraw
* A. McGuire
* F. McGuire
* McLendon
* Meanwell
* Meyer
* Miller
* Moore
* Mulkey
* Nelson
* Nikolić
* Novosel
* Olson
* Pitino
* Popovich
* Ramsay
* Richardson
* Riley
* Rubini
* Rupp
* Rush
* B. Russell
* Sachs
* Self
* Sharman
* Shelton
* Sloan
* D. Smith
* Stanley
* Stevens
* Stringer
* Summitt
* Sutton
* Tarkanian
* Taylor
* Teague
* J. Thompson
* Tomjanovich
* VanDerveer
* Wade
* Watts
* Wilkens
* G. Williams
* R. Williams
* Wooden
* Woolpert
* Wootten
* Wright
* Yow

Contributors|

* Abbott
* Ackerman
* Attles
* Barksdale
* Baumann
* Bee
* Biasone
* H. Brown
* W. Brown
* Bunn
* Buss
* Clifton
* Colangelo
* Costello
* Davidson
* Douglas
* Duer
* Embry
* Fagan
* Fisher
* Fleisher
* Garfinkel
* Gavitt
* Gottlieb
* Granik
* Gulick
* Harris
* Harrison
* Hearn
* Henderson
* Hepp
* Hickox
* Hinkle
* Irish
* M. Jackson
* Jernstedt
* R. Jones
* Kennedy
* Knight
* J. Krause
* Lemon
* Liston
* Lloyd
* Lobo
* McLendon
* Mokray
* Morgan
* Morgenweck
* Naismith
* Newell
* Newton
* J. O'Brien
* L. O'Brien
* Olsen
* Podoloff
* Porter
* Raveling
* Reid
* Reinsdorf
* Ripley
* Sanders
* Saperstein
* Schabinger
* St. John
* Stagg
* Stanković
* Steitz
* Stern
* Taylor
* Thorn
* Tower
* Trester
* Valvano
* Vitale
* Wells
* Welts
* Wilke
* Winter
* Zollner

Referees|

* Bavetta
* Enright
* Evans
* Garretson
* Hepbron
* Hoyt
* Kennedy
* Leith
* Mihalik
* Nichols
* Nucatola
* Quigley
* Rudolph
* Shirley
* Strom
* Tobey
* Walsh

Teams|

* 1948–1982 Wayland Baptist women's teams
* 1956–57 Tennessee A&I State men's team
* 1957–58 Tennessee A&I State men's team
* 1958–59 Tennessee A&I State men's team
* 1960 United States men's Olympic team
* 1965–66 Texas Western men's team
* 1976 United States women's Olympic team
* 1992 United States men's Olympic team
* All-American Red Heads
* Buffalo Germans
* The First Team
* Harlem Globetrotters
* Immaculata College
* New York Renaissance
* Original Celtics

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[G]: Games
*[W]: Games won
*[L]: Games lost
*[W–L%]: Win–loss perecentage
*[PG]: Playoff games
*[PW]: Playoff games won
*[PL]: Playoff games lost
*[PW–L%]: Playoff games win–loss percentage
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template