Harold "Chief" Litwack (September 20, 1907 – August 7, 1999) was an American college basketball coach. He served as head basketball coach at Temple University from 1952 to 1973, compiling a record of 373–193. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973.
 Litwack during the 1964–65 season. | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 20, 1907 Galicia, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Poland) |
| Died | August 7, 1999 (aged 91) Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1927–1930 | Temple |
| 1930–1936 | Philadelphia Sphas |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1948–1951 | Philadelphia Warriors (assistant) |
| 1952–1973 | Temple |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 373–193 |
| Tournaments | 7–6 (NCAA) 9–6 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 NCAA Regional – Final Four (1956, 1958) NIT (1969) 4 MAC (1964, 1967, 1969, 1972) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1976 (profile) | |
Coaching career
Litwack was born in Galicia, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Poland) but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Temple in 1930. He began his coaching career at Simon Gratz High School (1930–31), then he became head coach of the freshman team at Temple. Meanwhile, he was playing pro basketball with Eddie Gottlieb's all-Jewish Philadelphia Sphas, from 1930 to 1936. Before he became head coach at Temple in 1952, he also served briefly as assistant coach for the Philadelphia Warriors (1948–51). He died at the age of 91 in 1999.[1]
He coached Team USA's gold-medal winning team at the 1957 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and its silver medal-winning team at the 1973 Maccabiah Games.[2][3]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple Owls (Independent) (1952–1958) | |||||||||
| 1952–53 | Temple | 16–10 | |||||||
| 1953–54 | Temple | 15–12 | |||||||
| 1954–55 | Temple | 11–10 | |||||||
| 1955–56 | Temple | 27–4 | NCAA Third Place | ||||||
| 1956–57 | Temple | 20–9 | NIT Third Place | ||||||
| 1957–58 | Temple | 27–3 | NCAA University Division Third Place | ||||||
| Temple Owls (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1958–1973) | |||||||||
| 1958–59 | Temple | 6–19 | 4–7 | 9th | |||||
| 1959–60 | Temple | 17–9 | 9–2 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1960–61 | Temple | 20–8 | 9–1 | 2nd | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1961–62 | Temple | 18–9 | 8–2 | 2nd | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1962–63 | Temple | 15–7 | 6–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1963–64 | Temple | 17–8 | 6–1 | 1st | NCAA University Division first round | ||||
| 1964–65 | Temple | 14–10 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1965–66 | Temple | 21–7 | 5–3 | 4th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1966–67 | Temple | 20–8 | 7–0 | 1st | NCAA University Division first round | ||||
| 1967–68 | Temple | 19–9 | 5–3 | 4th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1968–69 | Temple | 22–8 | 6–1 | 1st | NIT Champions | ||||
| 1969–70 | Temple | 15–13 | 6–2 | T–3rd (Eastern) | NCAA University Division first round | ||||
| 1970–71 | Temple | 13–12 | 3–3 | 4th (Eastern) | |||||
| 1971–72 | Temple | 23–8 | 5–0 | 1st (Eastern) | NCAA University Division first round | ||||
| 1972–73 | Temple | 17–10 | 4–1 | 2nd (Eastern) | |||||
| Temple: | 373–193 | 87–32 | |||||||
| Total: | 373–193 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
