Stamp honoring UCLA’s Wood gets ’24 release

Nov 30, 2023, 01:39 PM ET LOS ANGELES– A limited-edition stamp honoring late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden will go on sale early next year.The U.S. Postal Service revealed the stamp Thursday. Wood is the second college basketball coach to be bestowed a stamp, joining the game’s creator, James Naismith, who had a stamp in 1961. Nearly 18 million Permanently stamps will be issued featuring an initial picture of the coach who guided UCLA to 10 national championships throughout his 27-year period in Westwood, which ended in 1975. John Wooden, shown in 1964 with the UCLA group that won 30 straight games, will be featured on a U.S. Postal Service stamp in 2024. AP Picture Wood passed away in 2010 at age 99. The stamp illustrates Wooden courtside in the early 1970s, concentrated on a game and wearing a pinstripe fit, patterned tie and black-framed glasses. The name John remains in blue and Wooden is in gold, a nod to the school’s colors. The image is based on a picture by university professional photographer Norm Schindler.In the stamp’s background, one player tries a dive shot as another tries to block it.

Their jersey varieties of 4 and 10 signify UCLA’s 4 unbeaten seasons under Wooden and the 10 NCAA championships.”This stamp is a tribute to Coach Wooden’s exceptional and widespread effect, which extends far beyond UCLA and far beyond basketball,”UCLA chancellor Gene Block said.The post workplace in the Reseda section of Los Angeles was called for Wooden in 2006.