Harold Olsen
Harold Olsen (1895-1953)
Teams coached: Bradley Braves, Ripon Crimson, Ohio State Buckeyes, Chicago Stags, Northwestern Wildcats
Bradley record: 6-9 (.400)
Ripon record: 27-10 (.730)
Ohio State record: 255-192 (.570)
Northwestern record: 19-25 (.432)
Overall record^: 207-236 (.565)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1939)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (1939, 1944, 1945, 1946)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 4 (1939, 1944, 1945, 1946)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Big Ten Regular Season Champion: 5 (1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946)
Awards:
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 1959)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1950-1952 | Northwestern |
| 1946-1949 | Chicago Stags |
| 1922-1946 | Ohio State |
| 1919-1922 | Ripon |
| 1918-1919 | Bradley |
Harold Olsen Facts
- Harold G. Olsen
- Born May 12, 1895
- Died October 29, 1953
- Hometown: Rice Lake, Wisconsin
- Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin (BA, 1917)
- Played for Walter “Doc” Meanwell at Wisconsin; was part of the 1915-16 Helms national championship team
- Started coaching in 1918, leading the Bradley Braves for one season and Ripon Crimson for three
- Also coached baseball at Bradley and football at Ripon (WI)
- Hired in 1922 to be the head coach at Ohio State, a position he would hold for the next 24 years
- Went 255-192 over that tenure, winning five Big Ten titles and reaching four NCAA Final Fours
- Parlayed his success at OSU into a job coaching the Chicago Stags, an original NBA franchise
- Was 95-63 in three seasons, finishing as league runner-up in 1947
- Notable players he coached include Andy Phillip, Max Zaslofsky, Ken Sailors, Ed Mikan and future coach Doyle Parrack
- Finished his coaching career at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats for two seasons (19-25 overall)
- Illness caused Olsen to step away in 1952 and he passed away a year later at age 57; survived by his daughter
- Inducted into the Naismith HOF in 1959 as a contributor and was part of the College Basketball HOF’s inaugural class
Harold Olsen Coaching Tree
- Philip Brownstein (Chicago Stags)
- Cookie Cunningham (North Dakota, Washington and Lee)
- Tippy Dye (Washington, Ohio State)
- Doyle Parrack (Oklahoma, Oklahoma City)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA level only
