| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 1 |
Alma Mater: Stanford [1948]
Date Born: May 24, 1922
Date Died: December 19, 1991
Overall Record: 361-315 [27 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/22/1973 | Stanford at Kentucky | W | 78 - 77 | UKIT Championship |
Obituary - Philadelphia Inquirer (December 21, 1991)
Howard Dallmar, 69; He Played Pro Basketball While Coaching Penn
by Andy Wallace
Howard Dallmar, 69, the toast of Philadelphia basketball in the 1940s and early 1950s when he played for the Philadelphia Warriors and coached the University of Pennsylvania Quakers - at the same time - died Wednesday in Menlo Park, Calif.
Mr. Dallmar moonlighted in sports in 1948-49 in a way practically never done. He played professional basketball for the Warriors at an all-star level, while coaching Penn to a 15-8 record.
It was a tough task. One weekend Dallmar held practice for Penn on Friday afternoon, flew to Boston to play the Celtics that night, returned to Philadelphia to coach the Quakers against Princeton on Saturday and caught a sleeper train for Providence, R.I. to catch up with the Warriors for a game on Sunday afternoon.
"It entailed a certain amount of travel," Dallmar said at the time. "The only trouble was, I didn't have any time to practice."
Dallmar didn't need to moonlight to get his rave reviews. He was a champion both as a player and as a coach.
A 6-foot-5 guard, he was the most valuable player on the Stanford University basketball team that won the NCAA championship in 1942. He also played varsity baseball there, and turned down major league offers from four teams - including the Phillies and Boston.
Dallmar's playing days were interrupted by World War II.
Sent to Philadelphia by the Navy to attend pre-flight training school, he enrolled at Penn to complete his undergraduate work - and to use up his last year of sports eligibility.
That year, he averaged 10.3 points a game, led the team to a championship of the Eastern Intercollegiate League - forerunner to the Ivy League - and was a consensus first-team All-American.
He played for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1946-47, handing out 104 assists as the team won the first championship of the newly formed Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association. That year he scored 8.8 points a game, none more important than the two he scored with a last-second basket that beat Chicago and gave the Warriors the championship.
The next year, he averaged 12.2 points handed out 120 assists, tops in the league, and was named to the league's all-star team.
Observed a writer, "Howie had this thing called a glide shot. He weighed a bit over 200 pounds ... and could move like a scared kangaroo."
Dallmar charged down court, took off about the foul line, soared to the basket and gave the ball an little underhand flip. "The ball would land in the basket and Howie would land somewhere underneath it."
But more often, the glide ended with the ball in a teammate's hand and he ended up with an assist.
He learned to do that by painting circles on a gym wall and tossing the basketball at them. When he could hit them standing still, he took aim while running and jumping.
"He was one of the best playmakers in the league, if not the best," Eddie Gottlieb, Warrior coach, said then. "But he is also a standout man in getting the ball off the boards."
He guided Penn to a 105-51 record in the six years he was there.
In 1952-53, the Quakers compiled a 22-5 record and made their first trip to the NCAA Finals. That team had a 14-0 record at home and won the Eastern Intercollegiate League title. The same year, he coached the Penn baseball team to a tie for the EIL league championship.
His final season at Penn was in 1953-54, when the team finished with a 17-8 record. After that, Mr. Dallmar accepted the coaching job at Stanford, his alma mater.
He said he had been happy at Penn and did not want to leave. "I didn't apply for the job," he said at the time. "But they made me such an excellent offer I just couldn't refuse."
It was a loss for Philadelphia. "He was thought to be one of the premier coaches of that time," said Paul Rubincam, athletic director at the University of Pennsylvania. "howard was certainly one of the reasons that I came to Penn back in 1952.
"At the end of my first year, he went to Stanford and asked if I wanted to go. I didn't, but there have been many times when I wondered what would have happened if I'd done that. I had a lot of love and respect for the man."
