John Albert "Honest John"[1] Warren (November 10, 1904 – March 10, 1981) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track. He served as the head football coach the University of Oregon for one season in 1942, tallying a mark of 2–6, and as the head basketball coach at Oregon for five seasons (1944–1945, 1947–1951), compiling a record of 87–76.
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 10, 1904 La Grande, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | March 10, 1981 (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1926–1927 | Oregon |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1936–1941 | Oregon (freshmen) |
| 1942 | Oregon |
| Basketball | |
| 1944–1945 | Oregon |
| 1947–1951 | Oregon |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 2–6 (football) 87–76 (basketball) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NCAA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Basketball 1 PCC (1945) | |
Early life and coaching career
Warren was born in La Grande, Oregon, and was raised on a farm near Helix, Oregon. He played on the Oregon Ducks football team in 1926 and 1927.
Warren coached high school basketball at Astoria High School, leading the Fishermen and its two stars Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen to two consecutive state championships in 1934 and 1935.[2] In 1935, Warren was hired as the freshman basketball coach at the University of Oregon, where he coached Johansen and Anet who had enrolled at the school. Four years later, Johansen and Anet were the core of Oregon's 1939 national championship team.[3]
Warren founded John Warren Sporting Goods after purchasing a local hardware store in 1951. The store went out of business shortly after his death in 1981.[4]
Death
Warren died in Los Angeles on March 10, 1981, after suffering a heart attack on February 26, 1981, while on vacation in Mexico.[5]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Webfoots (Pacific Coast Conference) (1942) | |||||||||
| 1942 | Oregon | 2–6 | 2–5 | 8th | |||||
| Oregon: | 2–6 | 2–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 2–6 | ||||||||
Basketball
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Webfoots (Pacific Coast Conference) (1944–1945) | |||||||||
| 1944–45 | Oregon | 30–15 | 11–5 | T–1st (North) | NCAA Regional Third Place | ||||
| Oregon Webfoots (Pacific Coast Conference) (1947–1951) | |||||||||
| 1947–48 | Oregon | 18–11 | 8–8 | 4th (North) | |||||
| 1948–49 | Oregon | 12–18 | 7–9 | T–3rd (North) | |||||
| 1949–50 | Oregon | 9–19 | 6–10 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 1950–51 | Oregon | 18–13 | 10–6 | 2nd (North) | |||||
| Oregon: | 87–76 | 42–38 | |||||||
| Total: | 87–76 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||