McGuire, Al

Al McGuire, byname of Alfred James McGuire, (born Sept. 7, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Jan. 26, 2001, Milwaukee, Wis.), American collegiate basketball coach who was a master at game coaching.

McGuire learned the game in the hard school of Queens street basketball. He later played for St. John’s Preparatory School and St. John’s College, both in Brooklyn, and played in the professional National Basketball Association, with the New York Knicks (1951–54) and with the Baltimore Bullets (1954–55). He then turned to coaching.

McGuire served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire, 1955–57) before becoming head coach at Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, North Carolina; 1957–64), where he compiled a record of 109–64. In 1965 he joined Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin; also athletic director from 1971) and soon established one of the best basketball programs in the country. At Marquette his teams won 295 games and lost 80 and made 11 postseason appearances, including 9 National Collegiate Athletic Associate (NCAA) tournaments. Marquette won the 1970 National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA national championship in 1977, the last game McGuire coached. He was a master of tactics in the final minutes of a game. His penchant for drawing technical fouls from officials was viewed as a weakness by his critics and as a psychological ploy by his admirers. McGuire also was noted as an excellent recruiter.

After retiring in 1977, McGuire became a television commentator for collegiate games. His plainspoken, unorthodox style proved highly popular with listeners and players alike. He announced games until March 2000, when failing health forced him to retire. McGuire was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.