John Ray Eddy was an American college basketball coach and former player. He was the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University from 1950 to 1965. He grew up in Columbus, Indiana, where he starred on the Columbus High Schoolbasketball team. After high school, he attended Purdue University, where he played basketball under head coachWard Lambert. As a 3-year starter, he won two undisputed Big Ten crowns, averaging 6.1 points per game over his career. In 1932 was the second leading scorer on the Helms National Collegiate championship team. In 1934, he was the captain and an All-Big Ten forward for the conference championship team. When he accepted the Purdue University head coaching position, Eddy became the last coach to jump directly from the high school ranks to the Big Ten.
Coaching career
High school
Following his graduation, Eddy was hired as the head coach in Tell City, Indiana. Eddy spent 5 seasons in the Ohio River town, winning 3 Indiana High School Sectional titles. In 1939, Eddy moved to Madison, Indiana and became the head coach for the Madison Cubs. In his 11-year tenure, Eddy's teams won 10 Sectionals, 6 Regionals, 3 Semi-States & 1 State Championship, his 1941 and 1949 teams finished as the State Runner-Up. In sixteen seasons at the high school level, Eddy's teams won 13 Sectionals, 6 Regionals, 3 Semi-States & 1 State Championship. In addition, he coached 7 Indiana All-Stars; 9 of his players were later inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Eddy led three of his Madison Cubs teams to the IHSAA State Finals. The third time proved the charm as the Cubs won the highly coveted Single-Class title in 1949-50; the first two trips, the Cubs were the State Runner-Up.
Purdue University
Eddy placed a great deal of emphasis on the academic success of his players. During his 15 years at Purdue, he was able to attract a number of talented players, including All-Americans Terry Dischinger and Dave Schellhase. While finishing as Big Ten runner-up on three occasions, Purdue failed to win the title during Eddy's tenure, and never advanced to postseason play. Eddy's 176 wins rank third all-time at Purdue, as do his 15 years on the bench. In addition, Eddy ranks 3rd all-time in Big Ten wins among Purdue coaches with 92. His 92 Big Ten wins currently rank 23rd in 100+ years of Big Ten history. In addition to All-Americans Dischinger and Schellhase; Eddy also coached 2 college football All-Americans: Eddy also coached Pete Brewster, a 2x Pro Bowl TE for the Cleveland Browns and Joe Campbell, former PGA Tour player and Purdue golf coach. Several of Eddy's players went into coaching at the collegiate as well as high school level; the most well-known include Schellhase, Joe Sexson, and Mel Garland,.
