Craig Ruby
Craig Ruby (1896-1980)
Teams coached: Missouri Tigers, Illinois Fighting Illini
Missouri record: 33-2 (.943)
Illinois record: 148-95 (.609)
Overall record: 181-97 (.651)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 2 (1924, 1935)
- Missouri Valley Regular Season Champion: 2 (1921, 1922)
- Premo-Porretta National Championships: 2 (1921, 1922)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1922-1936 | Illinois |
| 1920-1922 | Missouri |
Craig Ruby Facts
- James Craig Ruby
- Born May 30, 1896
- Died September 9, 1980
- Hometown: Stockport, Iowa
- Alma Mater: University of Missouri (BA, 1920)
- Played at Missouri for head coaches Walter “Doc” Meanwell and John F. Miller
- Twice earned All-American and All-MVC honors as a player
- After graduating in 1920, Ruby took over as head coach of the Tigers
- Went 33-2 in two seasons, winning the Missouri Valley title each year
- Both teams were retroactively named the Premo-Porretta National Champions
- Left his alma mater in 1922 to become the head coach at the University of Illinois
- Was 148-95 in 14 seasons with the Illini, winning the Big Ten title in both 1924 and 1935
- Served as the (2nd) President of the NABC for the 1929-30 season
- Retired from coaching in 1936 and moved to Kansas City to work at Hallmark greeting card company
- Along with his wife, Dorothy, had a daughter, Joyce, and a daughter, Jay
- Died at the age of 84 in Johnson County, Kansas in 1980
Craig Ruby Coaching Tree
- Harry Combes (Illinois)
- John C. Evans (Vermont)
- Royner Greene (North Park, Cornell)
- Don Karnes (Illinois State)
- John Mauer (Florida, Army, Tennessee, Miami OH, Kentucky)
- Douglas Mills (Illinois)