Hec Edmundson
![]() 1945 Tyee yearbook | |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Moscow, Idaho, U.S. | August 3, 1886
Died | August 6, 1964 Seattle, Washington, U.S. | (aged 78)
Alma mater | University of Idaho, B.S. (agriculture), 1910[1] |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Basketball | |
1916–1918 | Idaho |
1920–1947 | Washington |
Track and field | |
1913–1915 | Idaho |
1916 | Whitman |
1917–1918 | Idaho |
1919 | Texas A&M |
1920–1954 | Washington |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 508–204 (basketball) |
Clarence Sinclair "Hec" Edmundson (August 3, 1886 – August 6, 1964) was an American basketball and track coach.[2]
A native of Moscow, Idaho, and a 1910 graduate of the University of Idaho,[1] Edmundson coached at his alma mater (1916–18) and the University of Washington (1920–47), compiling a 508–204 (.713) overall record in 29 seasons.[3]
Edmundson also coached the track teams and served on the NCAA Basketball Committee from 1941 to 1946. The University of Washington hosted the national basketball finals in 1949 and 1952 in the arena that bears his name.[3]
Nickname
[edit]Edmundson gained his nickname from his mother: as a child he often muttered, "Oh, heck."[4][5]
Collegiate and Olympic career
[edit]One of the first great athletes at the fledgling University of Idaho in Moscow, Edmundson competed in track for his hometown university, and launched the team onto the national stage when he and two other athletes traveled to the Lewis and Clark Exposition Games against the top schools in the Northwest.[6] While still in high school at the UI prep school, he lowered the Northwest record for the half-mile in June 1905.[7][8]
Newspapers wrote that Edmundson "impressed with his graceful form and unfaltering determination." He is responsible for organizing the Idaho cross country team in 1908, which set the foundation for a team that would win nine Pacific Coast Conference titles. In 1908, Edmundson traveled to Stanford for the western U.S. Olympic trials, where he won the 800 meters and finished second in the 400 meters,[9] but did not make the Olympic team. He later held the title of top half-miler in the country through 1912. Edmundson became the first Idahoan to compete in the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912.[10] He finished seventh in the 800 meters and sixth in the 400 meters.[11]
Edmundson attended the UI prep school and was a charter member of the new chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity as an undergraduate.[12] He earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Idaho in 1910,[1][13] and then taught and coached at the high school level, one year each at Coeur d'Alene and Broadway High School in Seattle. He returned to Moscow to coach the UI track team in 1913.[14]
Coaching career
[edit]After several seasons as track coach at Idaho, he left after a salary dispute and coached at Whitman College in nearby Walla Walla for a season.[14] He returned to Idaho as both track and basketball coach in 1916,[15][16] and his basketball teams compiled a 20–9 record in two seasons. It was these basketball teams which were the first UI teams referred to as the Vandals;[17][18][19] the nickname was eventually applied to all of the university's athletic teams by the early 1920s.[20]
After a track season at Texas A&M, he headed to Seattle to coach the Washington Huskies, where he is credited with the creation of the fast-break offense style, which he attributed to his track background. He coached basketball through March 1947, and continued as track coach for another seven years.
Hec Edmundson Pavilion
[edit]The UW Pavilion, a multi-purpose field house opened 97 years ago in December 1927, was renamed "Hec Edmundson Pavilion" in his honor in January 1948. In March 1999,[21][22] "Hec Ed" underwent a major interior renovation for 19 months and re-opened in November 2000.[23]
Grave
[edit]Edmundson died of a stroke in August 1964 at the age of 78,[24][25] and was interred in Calvary Cemetery in northeast Seattle, about a mile (1½ km) north-northeast of the Hec Edmundson Pavilion. He is buried next to his wife Mary Zona Schultz (1887–1980), son James (1924–2000), and infant child (1921) (47°40′02″N 122°17′40″W / 47.66733°N 122.29431°W).[26] Edmundson was posthumously inducted into the Big W Club, the UW athletics hall of fame, in the first class of 1979.[27]
Edmundson's parents were Thomas Sinclair Edmundson (1854–1898) and Emma Jeannette Rowley (1858–1930),[5] both buried in Moscow. His younger brother was Wilbur Clifford Edmundson,[28] who taught horticulture at the UI and later worked for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.[29]
Head coaching record
[edit]Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Idaho Vandals (Independent) (1916–1918) | |||||||||
1916–17 | Idaho | 8–8 | |||||||
1917–18 | Idaho | 12–1 | |||||||
Idaho: | 20–9 (.690) | ||||||||
Washington Huskies (Pacific Coast Conference) (1920–1947) | |||||||||
1920–21 | Washington | 18–4 | 10–4 | 3rd | |||||
1921–22 | Washington | 13–5 | 11–5 | 4th | |||||
1922–23 | Washington | 12–4 | 5–3 | 2nd North | Lost North playoff | ||||
1923–24 | Washington | 12–4 | 7–2 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1924–25 | Washington | 14–7 | 5–5 | T-3rd North | |||||
1925–26 | Washington | 10–6 | 5–5 | 4th North | |||||
1926–27 | Washington | 15–4 | 7–3 | T–2nd North | |||||
1927–28 | Washington | 22–6 | 9–1 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1928–29 | Washington | 18–2 | 10–0 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1929–30 | Washington | 21–7 | 12–4 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1930–31 | Washington | 25–3 | 14–2 | 1st North | Won PCC series | ||||
1931–32 | Washington | 19–6 | 12–4 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1932–33 | Washington | 22–6 | 10–6 | 2nd North | |||||
1933–34 | Washington | 20–5 | 14–2 | 1st North | Won PCC series | ||||
1934–35 | Washington | 16–8 | 11–5 | 2nd North | |||||
1935–36 | Washington | 25–7 | 13–3 | 1st North | Lost PCC series | ||||
1936–37 | Washington | 15–11 | 11–5 | T-2nd North | |||||
1937–38 | Washington | 29–7 | 13–7 | 2nd North | |||||
1938–39 | Washington | 20–5 | 11–5 | 2nd North | |||||
1939–40 | Washington | 10–15 | 6–10 | 4th North | |||||
1940–41 | Washington | 12–13 | 7–9 | T-3rd North | |||||
1941–42 | Washington | 18–7 | 10–6 | 2nd North | |||||
1942–43 | Washington | 24–7 | 12–4 | 1st North | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
1943–44 | Washington | 26–6 | 15–1 | 1st North | (none) | ||||
1944–45 | Washington | 22–18 | 5–11 | 4th North | |||||
1945–46 | Washington | 14–14 | 6–10 | 4th North | |||||
1946–47 | Washington | 16–8 | 8–8 | 3rd North | |||||
Washington: | 488–195 (.714) | 259–130 (.666) | |||||||
Total: | 508–204 (.713) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. May 1910. p. 31.
- ^ "Hec Edmundson". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ a b Eskenazi, David. "Wayback Machine: Ace Coach Hec Edmundson". Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ "'Hec' to the Future". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 3, 1999. p. D-1.
- ^ a b Capace, Nancy (2000). Encyclopedia of Idaho. p. 158. ISBN 9780403096060.
- ^ “Hall of Famers Arrive on Campus: Clarence ‘Hec’ Edmundson,” University of Idaho news release (Sept 6, 2007).
- ^ "Idaho at the Lewis and Clark Exposition". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. May 1906. p. 119.
- ^ "Edmundson sets new record". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. June 18, 1905. p. 3.
- ^ Hymans, Richard (2008). "History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. pp. 41, 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
- ^ "Idaho Vandals Hall of Fame". University of Idaho Athletics. 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Sports Reference.com Archived 2012-11-12 at the Wayback Machine – Hec Edmundson - 1912 Olympics - accessed 2011-10-01
- ^ "Juniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. May 1909. p. 41.
- ^ Basketball: a biographical dictionary - compiled by David L. Porter, 2005, p.128, ISBN 0-313-30952-3
- ^ a b "UI gave famous UW coach his big push in athletics". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. University of Idaho news bureau. September 3, 1989. p. 1D.
- ^ "First basketball call at Idaho U". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 13, 1916. p. 14.
- ^ "Track material scarce at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 26, 1918. p. 16.
- ^ "Varsity mauls Missionaries twice in season's first games". University Argonaut. (Moscow, Idaho). (University of Idaho). January 30, 1918. p. 1.
- ^ "Vandals divide last series with Montana Grizzlies in fast games". University Argonaut. (Moscow, Idaho). (University of Idaho). February 28, 1918. p. 1.
- ^ "Basketball". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. May 1918. p. 111.
- ^ "What is a Vandal?". University of Idaho Athletics. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "Huskies take a bite out of Cougs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 7, 1999. p. 1B.
- ^ "UW dumps WSU, nabs No. 7 seed". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. March 8, 1999. p. 1C.
- ^ UW basketball game day magazine, vol V, no. 7, (2000-11-25), "Welcome to the New Dawghouse", p.2
- ^ "Hec Edmundson, 77, dead after stroke". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. August 7, 1964. p. 11.
- ^ "Edmundson dies at 77". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 8, 1964. p. 8.
- ^ "Edmundson's grave location in Calvary Cemetery". Google Maps. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ^ Go Huskies.com Archived 2011-08-20 at the Wayback Machine - Big W Club - first class of 1979
- ^ "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. May 1911. p. 30.
- ^ "Edmundson takes U.S. position". Washington State University Libraries. Spokesman-Review. January 23, 1918. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
External links
[edit]- Hec Edmundson at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Hec Edmundson at Find a Grave
- 1886 births
- 1964 deaths
- American men's basketball players
- American male middle-distance runners
- American male sprinters
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Idaho Vandals men's track and field athletes
- Idaho Vandals men's basketball coaches
- Idaho Vandals men's basketball players
- Idaho Vandals track and field coaches
- People from Moscow, Idaho
- Track and field athletes from Idaho
- Texas A&M Aggies track and field coaches
- Washington Huskies men's basketball coaches
- Washington Huskies track and field coaches
- Whitman Blues track and field coaches
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
- Basketball coaches from Idaho
- Basketball players from Idaho
- Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Seattle)