Walt McPherson

Walter James McPherson (December 5, 1916 – January 12, 2013) was an American basketball coach and was regarded as one of the best at San Jose State University, and former West Coast Athletic Conference commissioner. McPherson graduated from San Jose State in 1939 and played as a fullback through 1936 and 1938 trained by Dudley DeGroot. He became a basketball coach and assistant football coach, he also managed to get his basketball team in the NCAA Tournament which was the team's first time in the tournament. He also taught Carroll Williams and Billy Wilson who also started their own sport careers. McPherson retired from coaching in 1960.^[2]

Walt McPherson

Biographical details
Born	(1916-12-05)December 5, 1916 San Jose, California, U.S.
Died	January 12, 2013(2013-01-12) (aged 96) Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1940–1942	San Jose State
1945–1960	San Jose State
Head coaching record
Overall	264–208 (.559)[1]

Personal life

McPherson was involved in World War II and became a lieutenant in the United States Navy. He became a member of San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. McPherson died in 2013 in Santa Rosa, California.^[2][3][4] He is survived by two children, including poet and University of California, Davis professor Sandra McPherson.^[3][5]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
San Jose State Spartans (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1940–1942)
1940–41	San Jose State	19–8
1941–42	San Jose State	13–20
San Jose State Spartans (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1945–1950)
1945–46	San Jose State	17–14
1946–47	San Jose State	18–9
1947–48	San Jose State	23–9
1948–49	San Jose State	22–13
1949–50	San Jose State	21–7
San Jose State Spartans (Independent) (1950–1952)
1950–51	San Jose State	18–12			NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1951–52	San Jose State	15–10
San Jose State Spartans (West Coast Conference) (1952–1960)
1952–53	San Jose State	15–8	4–4	T–3rd
1953–54	San Jose State	12–15	6–6	3rd
1954–55	San Jose State	16–9	7–5	2nd
1955–56	San Jose State	15–10	8–6	T–4th
1956–57	San Jose State	13–12	7–7	T–4th
1957–58	San Jose State	13–13	5–7	T–4th
1958–59	San Jose State	5–19	1–11	7th
1959–60	San Jose State	6–19	2–10	T–6th
San Jose State:		261–207 (.558)	40–56 (.417)
Total:		261–207 (.558)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion