| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 1 |
Alma Mater: Oklahoma [1929]
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Date Born: December 5, 1905
Date Died: December 4, 1983
Overall Record: 200-181 [17 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/21/1945 | Oklahoma at Kentucky | W | 43 - 33 | - |
Obituary - Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman (December 6, 1983)
Services Set for Bruce Drake
NORMAN - Services are scheduled today at 2 p.m. in the Mayes Funeral Chapel here for Bruce Drake, former basketball coach at the University of Oklahoma.
Drake, OU basketball coach from 1938 through 1955, died Sunday after a brief illness, just one week short of his 78th birthday.
Drake's Sooner teams won five Big Six championships and one Big Seven title during his 17-year head coaching career. Three of his teams reached the NCAA playoffs.
His 1947 team lost to Holy Cross and Bob Cousy in the NCAA finals. His 1939 and 1943 teams also lost to the eventual national champion in the post-season tournament.
In 1939 Oregon beat OU, 55-37, in the third round of the playoffs while Drake's 1943 club lost to Wyoming, 53-50.
Drake's 17-year record at OU was 200-181.
He was a member of the Helms Foundation and College Basketball Halls of Fame.
OU coach Billy Tubbs had praise for Drake.
"He made a great contribution to the University of Oklahoma," Tubbs said. "He was one of the first guys I met when I took this job, Bruce was very nice to me. He was very helpful."
"I think he was a great basketball coach. He's in the Hall of Fame and that speaks for itself. He's the only guy who ever took the Sooners to the finals of the NCAA. More importantly he was a great human being and I really thought a lot of him."
"We are all really saddened by his death."
Drake was the originator of the "shuffle" offense. He also is given credit for getting goaltending outlawed in college and professional basketball. When Oklahoma State had 7-foot Bob Kurland, Drake attacked goaltending in a Saturday Evening Post article that turned coaches' opinions against the practice of giant players standing in front of the goal and batting away opponents' shots.
His final coaching assignment came in 1975 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star game at Tulsa. Drake's West team posted a 110-89 victory over Eddie Hickey's East team.
Drake, who also founded and coached golf and swimming at OU, was a past president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, was chairman of the National Rules Committee for seven years and served a similar term as that body's treasurer.
An All-American guard at OU, he made the Helms Hall as both a player and coach. He is a member of the Oklahoma Athletic Hall of Fame and All-College tournament Hall of Fame.
After his retirement from OU, Drake coached the Air Force service team to a 34-13 record and then assisted one of his former players, Gerald Tucker, in coaching the 1956 U.S. team to the Olympic championship. The next year, Drake coached the Wichita Vickers Oil team to a tie for the National AAU title.
Drake founded golf at OU in 1933 and coached it for 16 years. He often paid travel expenses himself. One of his players, Walter Emery, won the NCAA crown in 1933. The clubhouse at the OU golf course is named for Drake.
An Oklahoma City Central High School product, Drake was one of the best all-around athletes in OU history. He played on the 1928 and 1929 Hugh McDermott teams which were all-victorious in Big Six play. He lettered two seasons as a football quarterback, although he hadn't played the sport at Central High. He was pole vault champion in the Rice and Kansas Relays.
Drake is survived by his wife, Myrtle, and two daughters, Mrs. Donna Pendarvis of Norman and Mrs. Deonne Moore of Porterville, Calif.
