Not
many college basketball coaches
are also law professors, but Ken Loeffler was one. The Beaver Falls
native graduated from high school there and later from
Penn State, then began his coaching career at Geneva College
(1928-1935) and had the distinction of handing Coach Clair Bee’s
Long Island University cage team its first home defeat in seven
years. Ken moved on to Yale, where he coached
basketball for the next eight years and attended Yale Law School (one of his roommates was former President Gerald R Ford). After four
years in the armed forces, Ken coached the St Louis Bombers to
the Basketball Association of America title then moved to
Philadelphia, where he served as a law professor at both LaSalle and
Temple. He coached LaSalle’s basketball team for six years,
compiling a 144-29 record and winning the NIT title in 1952 and the
NCAA title in 1954. Ken completed his coaching career in 1956 after
two seasons at Texas A&M, then returned to teaching as a law
instructor at Monmouth College in New Jersey. Before his death in
1975, Ken was elected to the
National Basketball Hall of Fame, the
Helms Sports Hall of Fame, and the Beaver Falls Sports Hall of Fame.
Not
many college basketball coaches
are also law professors, but Ken Loeffler was one. The Beaver Falls
native graduated from high school there and later from
Penn State, then began his coaching career at Geneva College
(1928-1935) and had the distinction of handing Coach Clair Bee’s
Long Island University cage team its first home defeat in seven
years. Ken moved on to Yale, where he coached
basketball for the next eight years and attended Yale Law School (one of his roommates was former President Gerald R Ford). After four
years in the armed forces, Ken coached the St Louis Bombers to
the Basketball Association of America title then moved to
Philadelphia, where he served as a law professor at both LaSalle and
Temple. He coached LaSalle’s basketball team for six years,
compiling a 144-29 record and winning the NIT title in 1952 and the
NCAA title in 1954. Ken completed his coaching career in 1956 after
two seasons at Texas A&M, then returned to teaching as a law
instructor at Monmouth College in New Jersey. Before his death in
1975, Ken was elected to the