View source for Ed Jucker

{{short description|American basketball and baseball player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Ed Jucker
| image = 1963 NCAA Basketball Championship program - Ed Jucker (cropped).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Jucker circa 1963
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|7|8}}
| birth_place = [[Norwood, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|2|2|1916|7|8}}
| death_place = [[Callawassie Island|Callawassie Island, South Carolina]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_sport1 = Basketball
| player_years2 = 1937–1940
| player_team2 = [[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|Cincinnati]]
| player_positions = 
| coach_sport1 = Basketball
| coach_years2 = 1945–1948
| coach_team2 = [[Merchant Marine Mariners men's basketball|Merchant Marine]]
| coach_years3 = 1948–1953
| coach_team3 = [[RPI Engineers men's basketball|RPI]]
| coach_years4 = 1953–1960
| coach_team4 = [[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|Cincinnati]] (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 1960–1965
| coach_team5 = Cincinnati
| coach_years6 = 1967–1969
| coach_team6 = [[Cincinnati Royals]]
| coach_years7 = 1972–1977
| coach_team7 = [[Rollins Tars men's basketball|Rollins]]
| coach_sport8 = Baseball
| coach_years9 = 1954–1960
| coach_team9 = [[Cincinnati Bearcats baseball|Cincinnati]]
| admin_years1 = 1981–1983
| admin_team1 = [[Rollins Tars men's basketball|Rollins]]
| overall_record = 270–122 (college basketball)<br />87–38 (college baseball)<br />80–84 (NBA)
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = Basketball<br />11–1 ([[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA University Division]])<br />1–3 ([[NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament|NCAA Division II]])
| championships = Basketball<br />2 [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Tournament]] ([[1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1961]], [[1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1962]])<br />3 [[List of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four appearances by coach|NCAA Division I Regional—Final Four]] ([[1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1961]], [[1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1962]], [[1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|1963]])<br>3 [[Missouri Valley Conference|MVC]] (1961–1963)
| awards = [[Henry Iba Award]] (1963)<br />[[NABC Coach of the Year]] (1963)<br />[[UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year]] (1963)<br />2× [[Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year|MVC Coach of the Year]] (1961, 1963)
| coaching_records = 
}}
'''Edwin Louis Jucker''' (July 8, 1916 – February 2, 2002) was an American [[basketball]] and [[baseball]] coach and college athletics administrator.  He served as the head basketball coach at the [[United States Merchant Marine Academy]] from 1945 to 1948, [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] (RPI) from 1948 to 1953, the [[University of Cincinnati]] from 1960 to 1965, and [[Rollins College]] from 1972 to 1977, compiling a career [[college basketball]] coaching record of 270–122.  He led the [[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball]] program to consecutive national titles, winning the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA basketball tournament]] in 1961 and 1962.  Jucker was also the head coach of the [[Cincinnati Bearcats baseball]] team from 1954 to 1960 while serving as an assistant coach for the basketball team.  He spent two seasons coaching in the professional ranks, leading the [[Cincinnati Royals]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) from 1967 to 1969.  Jucker served as the [[athletic director]] at Rollins College from 1981 to 1983.

==Early life==
Jucker was born in [[Norwood, Ohio]]. He attended the [[University of Cincinnati]] as an undergraduate student and played on the school's basketball teams during the 1938, 1939, and 1940 seasons. He was the captain of the 1940 team. Also, while an undergraduate, Jucker became a member of the [[Alpha Tau Omega]] fraternity.

==Early coaching==
Jucker was a professional [[baseball]] prospect until he decided to start coaching instead of trying to make it into [[Major League Baseball]]. His coaching career began at [[Batavia High School (Batavia, Ohio)|Batavia High]] in [[Clermont County, Ohio]], east of [[Cincinnati]]. Following service in the [[United States Navy|Navy]] during [[World War II]], he joined the college coaching ranks as assistant basketball coach at the [[United States Merchant Marine Academy]] in 1946. Two years later, he became head basketball coach at [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]].

Jucker returned to the University of Cincinnati in 1953 as assistant basketball coach and baseball mentor. He directed the UC freshmen to a 67–21 record in six years, while his baseball teams were 87–38 over seven seasons. In 1954, Jucker recruited [[Sandy Koufax]] at Cincinnati. After watching Koufax in his first practice, Jucker got him a work-study scholarship.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bach |first1=John |title=Koufax reunites with Coach Jucker |url=https://magazine.uc.edu/issues/0500/sports.html |website=Bearcat Sports |publisher=[[University of Cincinnati]] |date=May 2000}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
In 1960, Jucker was promoted to coach the basketball team after [[George Smith (basketball)|George Smith]] had accepted an offer become the program's athletic director. The 1960–61 season would be the first without star point guard [[Oscar Robertson]], who had been drafted into the NBA; in his three seasons with Cincinnati, the Bearcats had gone 79–9 and went to the Final Four twice. With a roster of fairly talented players that had used a run-and-shoot offense designed by Smith to get the ball to Robertson, Jucker instituted a new system he called "percentage basketball", one that would gear offense and defense to the method of play that seemed to have the best chance of success. The system did not come easily to success at first, as Cincinnati lost three of their first eight games. A 72–53 blowout loss to Bradley was the last loss in the 1960 season, which saw him abandon the 2-3 zone defense for man-to-man defense while garnering the respect of players such as [[Paul Hogue]], who stated that they were behind him and his system.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1986-02-02 |title=JUCKER RECALLS `SLOW` TIMES AT CINCINNATI |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/02/02/jucker-recalls-slow-times-at-cincinnati/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fimrite |first=Ron |title=It Was More Than Just a Game |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/11/18/it-was-more-than-just-a-game-on-march-23-1963-loyola-of-chicago-and-the-university-of-cincinnati-met-for-the-ncaa-championship-and-college-basketball-entered-a-new-era |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bingham |first=Walter |title=THE COACH OF EVERY YEAR |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1963/02/11/the-coach-of-every-year |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com |language=en-us}}</ref> In the [[1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament]], they reached their first ever tournament final after having lost in the Final Four back-to-back years. They met [[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|Ohio State]], who had a roster of [[Jerry Lucas]], [[John Havlicek]], [[Larry Siegfried]] to go with [[Henry Iba Award]] winner [[Fred Taylor (basketball, born 1924)|Fred Taylor]] as the defending champions. They trailed Ohio State 39–38 at halftime but rallied behind defense that rattled Lucas and Havlicek to end the second half with a 61–61 tie. Cincinnati played slow control in overtime to win 70–65 for the program's first national championship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suess |first=Jeff |title=‘This was no fluke’: UC shocked as NCAA champs in 1961, 1962 |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/university-of-cincinnati/2021/03/28/university-cincinnati-bearcats-shocked-ncaa-champions-1961-1962/4771371001/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=The Enquirer |language=en-US}}</ref> In the [[1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament]], they met Ohio State again in the National Championship, with only UCLA playing them close (a 72–70 win). They beat Ohio State (hindered by injury to Lucas) 71–59 to clinch back-to-back [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA basketball tournament]] championships. Jucker later stated his pride of his team and the dynasty (one that he had said was forgotten by fans) they had created for themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1988-04-04 |title=BEFORE UCLA, BEFORE TV, CINCINNATI HAD ITS DYNASTY |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/04/04/before-ucla-before-tv-cincinnati-had-its-dynasty/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

For all of his winning, he was once described as one who "usually has the harried mien of a longtime loser", regardless of the winning; Cincinnati lost just six times in Jucker's first three seasons. His 1963 team lost only one regular season game before reaching the championship game of the NCAA tournament versus [[1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team|Loyola of Chicago]] (who had All-American [[Jerry Harkness]]), one of the first teams to have a majority of African Americans in their playing lineup. Seven of the 10 starters in the game were African-American, the first time that a majority of players in the NCAA title game were black.<ref name="final">{{cite news|last=Lenehan|first=Michael|title=A Final and a Beginning|work=The New York Times|date=March 2, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/sports/ncaabasketball/a-final-and-a-beginning.html|accessdate=July 11, 2017}}</ref> The Bearcats led 29–21 at halftime, but Harkness tied the game at 54–54 to close the second half and force overtime. A tight overtime ended with Loyola's [[Vic Rouse (basketball)|Vic Rouse]] tipping in a shot to give Loyola a 60–58 victory that closed the Cincinnati dynasty. The following year saw the team go 17–9 and finished tied for third place in the conference and shut out of the tournament. The fifth and final season for Jucker saw them lose twelve games.

Jucker left the program after the 1965 season, citing the effects the job had on his family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN Classic - Jucker had an 11-1 record in NCAA tournament |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/obit/s/2002/0203/1322214.html |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref> Jucker holds the record for the highest winning percentage (.917) in NCAA tournament play. In his five seasons coaching the Bearcats, Jucker's team posted a record of 113–28, a .801 winning percentage. In 1966 he remained at the university as the Intramural Director and spent the summer in Spain coaching their national team.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Football Is Definite This Year Announces IM Director Juck |url=https://digital.libraries.uc.edu/collections/newsrecord/1966/1966_09_29.pdf |work=The News Record  |date=29 Sep 1966 |access-date=17 Apr 2020}}</ref> He agreed to coach the Spain national team from 1967 but changed his mind when he received offers from the [[National Basketball Association]] with Cincinnati Royals and the [[American Basketball Association]] with the [[Indiana Pacers]].<ref>[http://www.feb.es/2014/2/21/baloncesto/anos-sin-antonio-diaz-miguel/52548.aspx 14 años sin Antonio Díaz Miguel]</ref><ref>https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/whats-name-pacers-quite-bit</ref> In 1967, he chose to become the head coach of the [[Cincinnati Royals]] of the [[National Basketball Association]], which had both Robertson and Lucas on the roster. Robertson played in a career-low 65 games due to hamstring problems but still led the league in scoring with 29.2 points per game. The Royals (who also saw injury happen to Lucas on his knee) finished 39–43, one game out of a playoff spot.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deford |first=Frank |title=SERIOUS CONTENDERS FOR A FUNNY CITY |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1968/12/09/serious-contenders-for-a-funny-city |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=Sports Illustrated Vault {{!}} SI.com |language=en-us}}</ref> The 1968–69 season had them start at 20–9, but the turn of the year saw them fade away to a 41–41 finish. Jucker was let go after the season ended. Jucker then went to [[Rollins College]] in [[Winter Park, Florida]] where he built the school's basketball program into a national contender in [[NCAA Division II]].

In 1978, he was inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/hallfame/mtt/ed_jucker_753796.html |title=Ed Jucker Profile - GoBEARCATS.com - The Official Athletics Website of the University of Cincinnati |website=www.gobearcats.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618045836/http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/hallfame/mtt/ed_jucker_753796.html |archive-date=2013-06-18}}</ref> Also, the court that the University of Cincinnati plays on is named after Jucker. The number he wore as Cincinnati baseball coach is one of only two [[retired number|numbers retired]] by the school's baseball team.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dyer|first1=Mike|title=Sandy Koufax's Cincinnati uniform number a mystery|url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/university-of-cincinnati/2014/04/30/sandy-koufax-uniform-number-a-mystery/8515119/|access-date=19 December 2017|work=Cincinnati.com|date=April 30, 2014|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life and legacy==
Jucker died of prostate cancer on [[Callawassie Island|Callawassie Island, South Carolina]] in 2002 at age 85. He was survived by his wife, Joanne.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/06/sports/ed-jucker-85-who-coached-cincinnati-to-basketball-titles.html|title = Ed Jucker, 85, Who Coached Cincinnati to Basketball Titles|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 6 February 2002|last1 = Litsky|first1 = Frank}}</ref>

Cincinnati honored Jucker by inducting him into their athletics Hall of Fame in 1977.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ed Jucker (1977) - University of Cincinnati James P. Kelly Athletics Hall Of Fame |url=https://gobearcats.com/honors/university-of-cincinnati-james-p-kelly-athletics-hall-of-fame/ed-jucker/1007 |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=University of Cincinnati Athletics |language=en}}</ref> Rollins inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 1982.<ref name=":0" />

In 2014, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ohiobasketballhalloffame.com/?cat=42|title = Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame}}</ref> He is the only non-active [[List of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four appearances by coach#Coaches with multiple NCAA Division I Championships|coach with multiple NCAA Division I championships]] to not be a member of either the [[National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame]] or the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]].

==Head coaching record==

===NBA===
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1967–68 Cincinnati Royals season|Cincinnati]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1967}}
| 82||39||43||{{Winning percentage|39|43}}|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Eastern||—||—||—||—|| style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1968–69 Cincinnati Royals season|Cincinnati]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1968}}
| 82||41||41||{{Winning percentage|41|41}}|| style="text-align:center;"|5th in Eastern||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|- class="sortbottom"
! align="center" colspan=2|Career
! 164||80||84||{{Winning percentage|80|84}}|| ||—||—||—||—||
{{s-end}}

===College basketball===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Merchant Marine Mariners men's basketball|Merchant Marine Mariners]]
 | conference = Independent
 | startyear  = 1945
 | endyear    = 1948
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1945–46
 | name         = Merchant Marine
 | overall      = 14–0
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1946–47
 | name         = Merchant Marine
 | overall      = 12–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1947–48
 | name         = Merchant Marine
 | overall      = 4–13
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Merchant Marine
 | overall    = 30–17
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[RPI Engineers men's basketball|RPI Engineers]]
 | conference = Independent
 | startyear  = 1948
 | endyear    = 1953
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1948–49
 | name         = RPI
 | overall      = 13–3
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1949–50
 | name         = RPI
 | overall      = 12–3
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1950–51
 | name         = RPI
 | overall      = 9–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1951–52
 | name         = RPI
 | overall      = 4–11
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1952–53
 | name         = RPI
 | overall      = 8–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = RPI
 | overall    = 46–35
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|Cincinnati Bearcats]]
 | conference = [[Missouri Valley Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1960
 | endyear    = 1965
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | season       = [[1960–61 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1960–61]]
 | name         = [[1960–61 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team|Cincinnati]]
 | overall      = 27–2
 | conference   = 10–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Champion]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | season       = [[1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1961–62]]
 | name         = [[1961–62 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team|Cincinnati]]
 | overall      = 29–2
 | conference   = 10–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Champion]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1962–63]]
 | name         = [[1962–63 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team|Cincinnati]]
 | overall      = 26–2
 | conference   = 11–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Runner-up]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1963–64]]
 | name         = Cincinnati
 | overall      = 17–9
 | conference   = 6–6
 | confstanding = T–3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1964–65]]
 | name         = Cincinnati
 | overall      = 14–12
 | conference   = 5–9
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Cincinnati
 | overall    = 113–28
 | confrecord = 42–20
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Rollins Tars men's basketball|Rollins Tars]]
 | conference = Independent
 | startyear  = 1972
 | endyear    = 1975
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1972–73
 | name         = Rollins
 | overall      = 13–11
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1973–74
 | name         = Rollins
 | overall      = 18–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1974 NCAA Division II basketball tournament|NCAA Division II Regional Fourth Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1974–75
 | name         = Rollins
 | overall      = 15–7
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Rollins Tars men's basketball|Rollins Tars]]
 | conference = [[Sunshine State Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1975
 | endyear    = 1977
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1975–76
 | name         = Rollins
 | overall      = 19–6
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1976 NCAA Division II basketball tournament|NCAA Division II Regional Third Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1976–77
 | name         = Rollins
 | overall      = 16–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Rollins
 | overall    = 81–42
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 | overall = 270–122
}}

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|6522255}}

{{Navboxes
| list1 =
{{Merchant Marine Mariners men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Cincinnati Bearcats baseball coach navbox}}
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{{Henry Iba Award}}
{{NABC Coach of the Year}}
{{UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year}}
{{Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jucker, Ed}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Ohio]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Ohio]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Bearcats baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Royals head coaches]]
[[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Merchant Marine Mariners men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:People from Norwood, Ohio]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Ohio]]
[[Category:RPI Engineers athletic directors]]
[[Category:RPI Engineers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Rollins Tars athletic directors]]
[[Category:Rollins Tars men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]