Johnny Bach
Personal information
Born(1924-07-10)July 10, 1924
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 18, 2016(2016-01-18) (aged 91)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. John's Preparatory
(New York City, New York)
CollegeFordham (1943–1947)
BAA draft1948: – round, –
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1948–1950
PositionSmall forward / guard
Number17
Coaching career1950–2006
Career history
As player:
1948–1949Boston Celtics
1949–1950Hartford Hurricanes
As coach:
1950–1968Fordham
1968–1978Penn State
1979–1983Golden State Warriors (assistant)
1980,
1983–1986		Golden State Warriors
1986–1994Chicago Bulls (assistant)
1994–1996Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
1996–1998Detroit Pistons (assistant)
2001–2003Washington Wizards (assistant)
2003–2006Chicago Bulls (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As Assistant Coach:
Career BAA statistics
Points119 (3.5 ppg)
Assists25 (0.7 apg)
Games played34
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1948 Basketball Association of America (BAA) Draft, and played 34 games for the Celtics.

Career

In 1950, at age 26, Bach became one of the nation's youngest head coaches at a major college when he took over the coaching job at Fordham.[citation needed] He spent 18 years there, taking seven Ram teams to post-season tourneys. From 1968 to 1978, he coached at Penn State, where he joined three old friends from Brown–Rip Engle, Joe Paterno and Joe McMullen. Although he led the Nittany Lions to five winning seasons, he would never reach the postseason.

Bach would later coach the Golden State Warriors for three years. He served as an interim coach in 1980, and then as the full-time coach from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Bach joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant and became the architect of the "Doberman defense", the aggressive defensive effort led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant.[1] After the team won three championships from 1991 to 1993, Bach moved on to coaching jobs with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. His stint with the Wizards reunited him with Michael Jordan. He returned to the Bulls in 2003, and retired in 2006.[2]

Later life

After retiring from basketball, Bach turned to painting. In 2007, thirty-two of his watercolors were put on display at the Sevan Gallery in Skokie, Illinois.[2]

Death

Bach died on January 18, 2016, in Chicago at the age of 91.[3] Bach's funeral was held two days later on January 20, 2016, at the Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago.[4] As a World War II US Navy Ensign he was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.[5]

BAA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played
 FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage
 APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1948–49 Boston 34 .286 .680 .7 3.5
Career 34 .286 .680 .7 3.5

Head coaching record

College basketball

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Fordham Rams (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1950–1963)
1950–51 Fordham 20–8 3–3 2nd
1951–52 Fordham 20–8 3–3 4th
1952–53 Fordham 19–8 4–2 3rd NCAA First Round
1953–54 Fordham 18–6 3–1 2nd NCAA First Round
1954–55 Fordham 18–9 3–2 3rd
1955–56 Fordham 11–14 2–2 6th
1956–57 Fordham 16–10 2–2 T–3rd
1957–58 Fordham 16–9 1–3 6th NIT Quarterfinals
1958–59 Fordham 17–8 2–2 T–4th NIT First Round
1959–60 Fordham 8–18 1–3 5th
1960–61 Fordham 7–16 0–3 7th
1961–62 Fordham 10–14 1–3 T–5th
1962–63 Fordham 18–8 4–1 1st NIT First Round
Fordham Rams (Independent) (1963–1968)
1963–64 Fordham 9–11
1964–65 Fordham 15–12 NIT First Round
1965–66 Fordham 10–15
1966–67 Fordham 11–14
1967–68 Fordham 19–8 NIT Quarterfinals
Fordham: 265–193 (.579) 29–30 (.492)
Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1968–1976)
1968–69 Penn State 13–9
1969–70 Penn State 13–11
1970–71 Penn State 10–12
1971–72 Penn State 17–8
1972–73 Penn State 15–8
1973–74 Penn State 14–12
1974–75 Penn State 11–12
1975–76 Penn State 10–15
Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern 8) (1976–1978)
1976–77 Penn State 11–15 5–5 T–1st
1977–78 Penn State 8–19 4–6 T–2nd
Penn State: 122–121 (.502) 9–11 (.450)
Total: 387–314(.552)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Professional basketball

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
GSW 1979–80 21 6 15 .286 6th in Pacific - - - - Missed Playoffs
GSW 1983–84 82 37 45 .451 5th in Pacific - - - - Missed Playoffs
GSW 1984–85 82 22 60 .268 6th in Pacific - - - - Missed Playoffs
GSW 1985–86 82 30 52 .366 6th in Pacific - - - - Missed Playoffs
Career 267 95 172 .356 - - - .-

References

  1. ^ "Johnny Bach: Ace of Spades".
  2. ^ a b Shamus Tooney. "From courtside to art gallery – Bulls' Bach shows off watercolors". Chicago Sun-Times. September 20, 2007. 12.
  3. ^ K. C. Johnson (January 18, 2016). "Former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach dies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "Bulls greats pay their respects at Johnny Bach's funeral". Chicago Tribune. January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Bach, John William". Nationwide Gravesite Locator. National Cemetery Administration. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.

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