Thor Henry Anderson (December 5, 1920 – September 5, 2005) was a college basketball coach and athletic director (AD). He was the head coach at Gonzaga University for 21 seasons, from 1951 to 1972,[1] where he compiled a 290–275 (.513) record.[2][3] Anderson later coached two seasons at Montana State University in Bozeman at 28–24 (.538) for a career record of 318–299 (.515). He finished his career in college athletics as the AD at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
 Anderson from the 1973 Montanan | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1920 Milton-Freewater, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | September 5, 2005 (aged 84) Gig Harbor, Washington, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1937–1939 | Eastern Oregon Normal |
| 1939–1941 | Oregon |
| Position(s) | Forward |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1941–1942 | Baker HS |
| 1945–1946 | Baker HS |
| 1946–1947 | Medford HS |
| 1947–1951 | Grants Pass HS |
| 1951–1972 | Gonzaga |
| 1972–1974 | Montana State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1953–1972 | Gonzaga |
| 1974–1983 | Northern Arizona |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 318–299 (.515) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2× Big Sky co-champions (1966, 1967) | |
| Awards | |
| Big Sky Coach of the Year (1966) | |
Early years
editBorn in Milton-Freewater in eastern Oregon, Anderson graduated from Burns High School in Burns at age 16 in 1937, and then played college basketball for Eastern Oregon Normal School in La Grande. After two years, he transferred to the University of Oregon in Eugene, and was a 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) forward for the Ducks under head coach Howard Hobson.[4][5]
High school coach
editAnderson earned his bachelor's degree in 1941 at age twenty, and was in graduate school in Eugene when he accepted his first head coaching job at Baker High School in eastern Oregon that October.[6]
He served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II and returned to Baker in 1945, then moved to western Oregon at Medford in 1946 and Grants Pass in 1947.[7][8] His 1950 team was state runner-up and he had a career prep record of 167–43 (.795)[9] prior to taking the Gonzaga job in April 1951 at age thirty.
College coach and administrator
editGonzaga's previous head coach, L. T. Underwood, finished the 1951 season at 8–22 (.267) and resigned after just two years with the Bulldogs. Anderson's first team was much improved in 1952 at 19–16 (.543), and after two seasons, he took on the added role of AD in 1953. The program elevated to NCAA Division I in 1958, joined the Big Sky Conference as a charter member in 1963, and opened the on-campus Kennedy Pavilion in 1965.[2][10] Anderson was Big Sky coach of the year in 1966, and stepped down as AD in 1972, then surprisingly left several weeks later to become head coach at Montana State in Bozeman, a conference rival.[9] He spent two seasons at MSU, then departed for another Big Sky school in 1974 to become the athletic director at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Anderson oversaw the building of the Walkup Skydome and was also on the board of directors of the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe; he stayed at NAU nearly a decade and retired at the end of 1983 at age 63.[11]
Later life
editAnderson then moved to Las Vegas in 1984 to work in minor league baseball for the Las Vegas Stars. The team, formerly the Spokane Indians from 1973 to 1982, was headed by Larry Koentopp, the former Gonzaga baseball coach hired by Anderson in 1969 and his successor as GU athletic director in 1972.[12][13]
Anderson and his wife Betty, married in 1943, later retired to Gig Harbor, Washington. He died in September 2005 at age 84 of an aortic aneurysm in Gig Harbor.[14]
College head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga Bulldogs (Independent) (1951–1963) | |||||||||
| 1951–52 | Gonzaga | 19–16 | |||||||
| 1952–53 | Gonzaga | 15–14 | NAIA First Round | ||||||
| 1953–54 | Gonzaga | 12–16 | |||||||
| 1954–55 | Gonzaga | 16–13 | |||||||
| 1955–56 | Gonzaga | 13–15 | |||||||
| 1956–57 | Gonzaga | 11–16 | |||||||
| 1957–58 | Gonzaga | 16–10 | |||||||
| 1958–59 | Gonzaga | 11–15 | |||||||
| 1959–60 | Gonzaga | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1960–61 | Gonzaga | 11–15 | |||||||
| 1961–62 | Gonzaga | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1962–63 | Gonzaga | 14–12 | |||||||
| Gonzaga Bulldogs (Big Sky) (1963–1972) | |||||||||
| 1963–64 | Gonzaga | 10–15 | 5–5 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1964–65 | Gonzaga | 18–8 | 6–4 | T-2nd | |||||
| 1965–66 | Gonzaga | 19–7 | 8–2 | T-1st | |||||
| 1966–67 | Gonzaga | 20–6 | 7–3 | T-1st | |||||
| 1967–68 | Gonzaga | 9–17 | 6–9 | T-4th | |||||
| 1968–69 | Gonzaga | 11–15 | 6–9 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1969–70 | Gonzaga | 10–16 | 7–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 1970–71 | Gonzaga | 13–13 | 6–8 | T-5th | |||||
| 1971–72 | Gonzaga | 14–12 | 8–6 | T-2nd | |||||
| Gonzaga: | 290–275 (.513) | 59–54 (.522) | |||||||
| Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky) (1972–1974) | |||||||||
| 1972–73 | Montana State | 17–9 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1973–74 | Montana State | 11–15 | 5–9 | T-6th | |||||
| Montana State: | 28–24 (.538) | 14–14 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 318–299 (.515) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Former coach Hank Anderson passes away". Gonzaga University Athletics. September 5, 2005. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Blanchette, John (September 7, 2005). "Zags couldn't have danced without Hank". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
- ^ Gonzaga Basketball History – Page 51 of 62[permanent dead link]
- ^ "New Gonzaga basketball coach". Spokesman-Review. photo. April 23, 1951. p. 8.
- ^ Blanchette, John (September 6, 2005). "Former GU coach Anderson dead at 84". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
- ^ "Baker signs Hank Anderson". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. October 28, 1941. p. 8.
- ^ "Grants Pass has top season mark". Eugene Register-Guard. March 13, 1950. p. 8.
- ^ "Anderson considered for Gonzaga vacancy". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 6, 1951. p. 11.
- ^ a b "Anderson selected MSU court coach". Spokesman-Review. March 25, 1972. p. 12.
- ^ Missildine, Harry (May 21, 1965). "Kennedy Pavilion heralds modern Gonzaga sports era". Spokesman-Review. p. 28.
- ^ "Ex-Gonzaga AD plans retirement". Spokesman-Review. June 26, 1983. p. D2.
- ^ Blanchette, John (January 13, 1984). "Hank moves on, with nothing up his sleeves". Spokesman-Review. p. 19.
- ^ "Koentopp given AD post". Spokesman-Review. April 6, 1972. p. 46.
- ^ "Former Gonzaga hoops coach Hank Anderson dies". Seattle Times. Associated Press. September 6, 2005. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
External links
edit- Sports Reference – coaching record – Hank Anderson
- Gonzaga University Digital Collections – Hank Anderson