U.S. stamp honoring Wooden unveiled at UCLA
Feb 24, 2024, 08:23 PM ET LOS ANGELES– A U.S. stamp honoring John Wooden was unveiled on the UCLA campus Saturday, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jamaal Wilkes on hand to honor their coach who assisted the Bruins to a record 10 national championships in the 1960s and ’70s.
Abdul-Jabbar utilized a walking stick to approach the lectern outside Pauley Pavilion on a sun-splashed day. He had hip replacement surgery just before Christmas after he fell at a show. The 76-year-old was referred to as Lew Alcindor during his college days, when he was a three-time national player of the year.
“There’s only one thing I can say which’s, ‘Thank you, Coach,'” Abdul-Jabbar said. “You offered it to us on both ends, you made us champs and you made us understand life. I don’t think any coach can do much better than that.”
The stamp reveals Wooden with an intense search his face and 2 players in the background wearing jerseys with the numbers 4 and 10. Four represents the number of undefeated seasons under Wooden, and 10 is the record number of championship games his teams won in Westwood.Had a remarkable
day at @UCLA commemorating the launch of the @USPS’ most recent stamp honoring Coach John Wooden. His impact on the Bruin community, both on and off the court, is unmatched. Thank you, Coach, for your enduring knowledge. #JohnWoodenStamp pic.twitter.com/7C1UH0y9xn!.?.!— Gene Block(@UCLAchancellor)
February 24, 2024″I feel his supreme impact will be as the supreme teacher,”said Wilkes, who wore a turquoise bolo tie gifted to him by Wood.”He gave us a present, a procedure where we might each live our finest lives. “People lined up to acquire some of the 18 million Wood stamps that have been printed and receive a first-day cancellation featuring the ZIP code appointed to the UCLA campus.UCLA chancellor Gene Block called Wooden”the university’s most legendary and precious figure”and kept in mind that Wooden
‘s renowned Pyramid of Success has appeared on the struck television show”Ted Lasso.””The USPS forever stamp can be utilized as postage in all time, never ever to end,” Block said,” which’s quite suitable for a man whose eternal, ageless knowledge will continue to form our lives and others for centuries to come.” Editor’s Picks
1 Associated Christy Impelman, Wooden’s oldest grandchild, informed the crowd that the male called Papa to his household personally responded to countless letters and sign requests throughout his life time without assistance from an assistant.
“He would sign or compose and seal the products in an envelope and put a stamp on them. In his 99 years, he utilized a lot of U.S. postage stamps,” she said, drawing laughter. “This honor today is a true reflection of the way he lived his entire life. Our household is so happy for the USPS, for UCLA. It’s terrific to keep his name out there and pertinent to younger generations to come.”
Previous UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field wore a long gray cardigan that she stated was a gift from Wooden. The two were close and Wood frequently attended her team’s satisfies, along with men’s and ladies’s basketball games, till the last year of his life in 2010.
“The handwritten notes that my husband and I received from Coach Wooden, that he composed in his stunning handwriting, and he put in an envelope and he mailed through the United States Postal Service with a stamp, makes this definitely, not just proper, however brilliant,” she said.Wooden had a post office in the Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley near his home called for him in 2006. The Indiana native is the second college basketball coach to be bestowed a U.S. stamp. The very first was James Naismith, who created the game.