| 1/4/2012 12:00:00 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gene Bartow, a 1987
inductee into the Truman Athletics Hall of Fame a 2000 inductee
into the University of Central Missouri Hall of Fame, passed away
on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at the age of 81.
A native of Browning, Mo., Mr. Bartow enrolled at Truman in 1948
and began his coaching career while under the guidance of Bulldog
coach Boyd King.
Mr. Bartow helped his Browning basketball team compile a
sparkling 37-1 record. The only loss came during his senior year by
a one-point, at the hands of Kirksville.
Mr. Bartow arrived at Truman when Boyd King's hoopsters were
ruling the roost in the MIAA, with the likes of Hall of Famers
Harry Gallatin and Earl "Smiley" Dodd. So, his playing time on the
varsity was numbered. However, he wanted to be a coach, and while
completing work toward a degree at the university he was asked to
fill the coaching vacancy at nearby Greentop High School (Mo).
His basketball team finished 16-6 that year. One month after
graduation, he started a two-year Army hitch at Fort Bliss, Texas,
where he played on the basketball team.
After returning to civilian life, he coached South Shelby High
School in Shelbina, Mo. to a 30-6 campaign and a berth in the state
tournament. He then went to St. Charles (Mo.) for an impressive
four-year tenure that included a 1957 state tournament. Altogether,
his high school teams compiled a 145-49 record.
He would spend the next 34 years as a college basketball head
coach and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall
of Fame in November 2009. He was the head coach at six
universities, compiling a 647-353 record. He directed Memphis State
to the 1973 national championship game and went 52-9 in two seasons
at UCLA, including another Final Four appearance, after the
retirement of the legendary John Wooden.
Mr. Bartow worked two years at California-Santa Barbara before
he was hired by the University of Central Missouri as head coach.
In a three-year stint, he guided the Mules to a 47-21 record.
His next stop was at Valparaiso University (Ind.) where his
teams rolled up a 93-69 mark and advanced three times to the NCAA
College Division playoffs. He was hired by Memphis State (Tenn.) in
1970, and during the next four seasons, his teams went 82-32. His
1973 team finished runner-up to UCLA in the NCAA tournament and Mr.
Bartow was named National Coach of the Year.
He left Memphis in 1974 and his career took him to Illinois
followed by replacing Wooden at UCLA as head coach. In 1977, Bartow
left the UCLA post with an .852 winning percentage - to build the
Alabama-Birmingham athletic department as athletic director and
men's basketball coach.
Mr. Bartow guided his first team to a 15-11 record and followed
that with an 18-12 season that ended in the National Invitation
Tournament. The program then made seven consecutive appearances in
the NCAA Tournament, beginning with a Sweet 16 appearance in 1981
and an Elite Eight trip in 1982.
Mr. Bartow retired from coaching in 1996, handing the UAB
program's reins to son Murry, and remained as the athletics
director until 2000.
Mr. Bartow has been selected to 10 halls of fame, including the
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and UAB Hall of Fame in
2009 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. He was recently
named to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and is also a member of
halls of fame at Truman State University, Valparaiso University,
the University of Central Missouri, University of Memphis and
Memphis Amateur Sports Hall of Fame.
Missouri Southern men's basketball head coach Robert Corn played
for Bartow one year at Memphis and was an assistant under Bartow
for 10 years at UAB before becoming the Lions' head coach in 1989.
Missouri Western men's basketball head coach Tom Smith was an
assistant coach under Bartow at Valparaiso.
Mr. Bartow is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth Huffine
Bartow, daughter Beth B. Long, sons Mark and Murry Bartow, and
eight grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Russell
Bartow.