Lambert, Piggy

▪ American basketball coach

byname of  Ward L. Lambert  

born May 28, 1888, Deadwood, S.D., U.S.

died Jan. 20, 1958, Lafayette, Ind.

      U.S. collegiate basketball coach who pioneered the fast break, an offensive drive down the court at all-out speed.

      Lambert got his nickname from the pigtails he wore as a child but gained a finer reputation for his skill as a basketball player at Crawfordsville (Ind.) High School and at Wabash College (Crawfordsville; B.S. in chemistry, 1911). After graduate study in chemistry at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), he taught physics and chemistry and coached at Lebanon (Ind.) High School (1912–16) before becoming coach at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.), where his teams won or shared in 11 Big Ten (Western Conference) championship titles. Low-key off the court but frenetic during games, Lambert's coaching method stressed self-confidence, aggressiveness, speed, and positive attitude. Among his All-American players was John Wooden (Wooden, John), who went on to become a coaching legend as well. Lambert retired from coaching in 1946, served until 1949 as commissioner of the professional National Basketball League, and then returned to Purdue as head freshman basketball and baseball coach. He also worked as a chemist. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960.

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