Gene Bartow, Man Who Followed John Wooden, Dies

Few men have tried to succeed a legend the way Gene Bartow did. He was the man who had the unfortunate task of following in the footsteps of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

Bartow died Tuesday after battling stomach cancer for almost two years. He was 81.

Bartow not only followed Wooden at UCLA, where he was unable to match the Wizard of Westwood's success, but he went on to become the architect of a new athletics program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Bartow, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer two years ago, died Tuesday night in Birmingham, where he lived, according to UCLA and University of Alabama spokesmen.

Despite starting the athletics program at Alabama Birmingham and establishing the basketball program as nationally competitive, Bartow probably will be best remembered in Southern California as the man who in 1975 took over for the retiring Wooden.

With the expectations that he would automatically take the Bruins to the same place Wooden had gone in 10 of his final 12 years—the national championship—Bartow lasted only two years as head coach despite a 52-9 record and a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The UCLA family has suffered a great loss today with the passing of former men's basketball coach Gene Barlow," said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "Gene had the unenviable task when he arrived at UCLA of following the greatest coach in college basketball history, John Wooden, and did so admirably."

Admirably, but not equally.

In 1975-76, Bartow's first season as Wooden's successor, the Bruins went 28-4 and reached the Final Four. The next year the Bruins finished 24-5.

Marques Johnson, who played for both Wooden and Bartow and who was college basketball player of the year in 1977, recalled the pressure Bartow faced.

"He was a sensitive person," Johnson told The Times. "He was used to being totally embraced as a coach and a person and he was just not ready for the kind of vitriol thrown at him when he took Coach Wooden's place. He never came to grips with it, and it bothered him more than anything.

"After two years, he was gaunt and pale and he refused to read the Los Angeles newspapers or listen to the radio because there was so much negativity. But he was a wonderful human being, a super nice guy and a great coach."

Bartow, who left UCLA after the 1977 season, finished with a 647-353 record over a 34-season coaching career and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, a daughter, two sons, a brother, and eight grandchildren.

—City News Service