McGuire, Alfred James

▪ 2002

“Al” 

      American basketball coach and broadcaster (b. Sept. 7, 1928, New York, N.Y.—d. Jan. 26, 2001, Milwaukee, Wis.), was one of college basketball's most talented and innovative coaches, and he enjoyed a second career as a popular television broadcaster for collegiate games. McGuire played guard on the basketball teams at St. John's Preparatory School and St. John's University, both in Brooklyn, N.Y. He went on to play in the professional National Basketball Association, with the New York Knickerbockers (1951–54) and the Baltimore Bullets (1954–55), before coaching at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., from 1955 to 1957 and at Belmont (N.C.) Abbey College from 1957 to 1964. In 1965 he became basketball coach at Marquette University, Milwaukee, where he also served as athletic director from 1971 until his retirement in 1977. His career record was 404 games won and 114 lost. At Marquette his teams won 295 games and lost 80 and appeared in 11 postseason tournaments; McGuire led Marquette to the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 1977. He was a master of tactics in the final minutes of games. His penchant for drawing technical fouls from officials was viewed as a weakness by his critics and as a psychological ploy by his admirers. After 1977 he worked briefly as a sports equipment manufacturing executive before embarking on a highly successful 23-year broadcasting career. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

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