Murray Mendenhall
Fort Wayne Pistons Head Coach | NBL Champion | Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
Murray Mendenhall was born on March 5, 1898, in Amo, Indiana. He played college basketball at DePauw University and built a long coaching career in Indiana before entering professional basketball.
Mendenhall coached the Anderson Packers before becoming head coach of the Fort Wayne Pistons for their first 2 NBA seasons. He led Fort Wayne to the playoffs in both seasons.
Mendenhall was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Coach Mendenhall passed away on July 27, 1972, at the age of 74.
- Overall Coaching Record: 72-64
Coaching Career
Murray Mendenhall became head coach of the Fort Wayne Pistons for the 1949-1950 NBA season.
Fort Wayne went 40-28 in his first season. The Pistons defeated the Chicago Stags in a tiebreaker and swept the Rochester Royals in the Central Division Semifinals before losing to the Minneapolis Lakers in the Central Division Finals.
The Pistons went 32-36 in 1950-1951 and returned to the playoffs, losing to the Rochester Royals in 3 games in the Western Division Semifinals. Mendenhall finished his NBA head coaching career with a 72-64 regular-season record and a 3-4 playoff record.
Notable Players Coached
- Fred Schaus
- 1950 All-NBA Second Team
- 1951 NBA All-Star
- Future NBA head coach
- Larry Foust
- 8× NBA All-Star
- 2× All-NBA selection
- 1952 NBA rebounding leader