J. Craig Ruby - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Craig Ruby) American basketball player & coach (1896-1980)

J. Craig Ruby
Biographical details
Ruby from The Savitar, 1922
Born	(1896-05-30)May 30, 1896 Stockport, Iowa, U.S.
Died	September 9, 1980(1980-09-09) (aged 84) Johnson County, Kansas, U.S.
Playing career
1917–1920	Missouri

Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1920–1922	Missouri
1922–1936	Illinois

Head coaching record
Overall	181–97
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 MVC (1921, 1922) 2 Big Ten (1924, 1935)
Awards
2× All-American – Helms (1918, 1919) 2× All-MVC (1919, 1920)

James Craig Ruby (May 30, 1896 – September 9, 1980) was an American college basketball player and coach. A two-time All-American and All-Missouri Valley Conference forward at the University of Missouri, he took over the head coaching position of his alma-mater in 1920. Ruby coached the Tigers for two seasons, compiling a record of 33 wins and only 2 losses. Both of Ruby's Missouri teams were retroactively named national champions by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Ruby was subsequently recruited by University of Illinois athletic director George Huff to take over the Fighting Illini’s men's basketball coaching duties.

Beginning in 1922 and continuing on for the next 14 years, Ruby compiled a record of 148 wins and 95 losses. While playing in the Big Ten Conference, Ruby's teams recorded 94 wins and 74 losses and won the conference championship 2 times. Ruby left the program in 1936 with coaching duties given to Douglas R. Mills.

Ruby and legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen actively campaigned together for higher baskets to offset the advantage of tall centers. He also advocated the elimination of the dribble to do away with stalling, and wanted the hoop enlarged to 20 inches in diameter rather than the standard 18. In 1930 Ruby served as the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Ruby retired from coaching to pursue a career with the Kansas City-based, Hallmark greeting card company at the age of 39. He died in 1980 in Johnson County, Kansas at the age of 84.

Ruby married Dorothy Whitney on August 11, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. They had a daughter, Joyce, and son, Jay Whitney.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Missouri Tigers (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1920–1922)
1920–21	Missouri	17–1	17–1	1st
1921–22	Missouri	16–1	15–1	T–1st
Missouri:		33–2 (.943)	32–2 (.941)
Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1922–1936)
1922–23	Illinois	9–6	7–5	T–4th
1923–24	Illinois	11–6	8–4	T–1st
1924–25	Illinois	11–6	8–4	T–3rd
1925–26	Illinois	9–8	6–6	T–5th
1926–27	Illinois	10–7	7–5	T–4th
1927–28	Illinois	5–12	2–10	T–9th
1928–29	Illinois	10–7	6–6	T–5th
1929–30	Illinois	8–8	7–5	T–5th
1930–31	Illinois	12–5	7–5	5th
1931–32	Illinois	11–6	7–5	5th
1932–33	Illinois	11–7	6–6	T–5th
1933–34	Illinois	13–6	7–5	4th
1934–35	Illinois	15–5	9–3	T–1st
1935–36	Illinois	13–6	7–5	T–3rd
Illinois:		148–95 (.609)	94–74 (.560)
Total:		181–97 (.651)
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

References

ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 535. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond ISBN 1-58261-793-7
FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Men's Basketball Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
NABC Presidents List

Links to related articles

Missouri Tigers men's basketball head coaches

Isadore Anderson (1906–1907)
A. M. Ebright (1907–1908)
Guy Lowman (1908–1910)
Chester Brewer (1910–1911)
Osmond F. Field (1911–1914)
Eugene Van Gent (1914–1916)
John F. Miller (1916–1917)
Walter Meanwell (1917–1918)
John F. Miller (1918–1919)
Walter Meanwell (1919–1920)
J. Craig Ruby (1920–1922)
George Bond (1922–1926)
George R. Edwards (1926–1946)
Wilbur Stalcup (1946–1962)
Bob Vanatta (1962–1967)
Norm Stewart (1967–1999)
Quin Snyder (1999–2006)
Melvin Watkins # (2006)
Mike Anderson (2006–2011)
Frank Haith (2011–2014)
Tim Fuller # (2013)
Kim Anderson (2014–2017)
Cuonzo Martin (2017–2022)
Dennis Gates (2022– )

# denotes interim head coach

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball head coaches

Elwood Brown (1905–1906)
Frank L. Pinckney (1906–1907)
Fletcher Lane (1907–1908)
Herb Juul (1908–1910)
Thomas E. Thompson (1910–1912)
Ralph Jones (1912–1920)
Frank Winters (1920–1922)
J. Craig Ruby (1922–1936)
Douglas R. Mills (1936–1947)
Harry Combes (1947–1967)
Harv Schmidt (1967–1974)
Gene Bartow (1974–1975)
Lou Henson (1975–1996)
Lon Kruger (1996–2000)
Bill Self (2000–2003)
Bruce Weber (2003–2012)
John Groce (2012–2017)
Jamall Walker # (2017)
Brad Underwood (2017– )

# denotes interim head coach

v t e 1918 Helms Foundation NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
Earl Anderson Bill Chandler Harold Gillen Hubert Peck J. Craig Ruby Joe Schwarzer Eber Simpson Alfred Sorenson George Sweeney Gene Vidal

v t e 1919 Helms Foundation NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
Lance Farwell Tony Hinkle Dutch Lonborg Leon Marcus Dan McNichol Arnold Oss George Parrish Erling Platou J. Craig Ruby Andrew Stannard

Categories: