Johnny Bach

This article is about the basketball player and coach. For the Welsh actor, see John Bach.

Johnny Bach

Personal information
Born	(1924-07-10)July 10, 1924 New York City, U.S.
Died	January 18, 2016(2016-01-18) (aged 91) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	St. John's Preparatory (New York City, New York)
College	Fordham (1943–1947)
BAA draft	1948: – round, –
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career	1948–1950
Position	Small forward / guard
Number	17
Coaching career	1950–2006
Career history
As player:
1948–1949	Boston Celtics
1949–1950	Hartford Hurricanes
As coach:
1950–1968	Fordham
1968–1978	Penn State
1979–1983	Golden State Warriors (assistant)
1980	Golden State Warriors (interim)
1983–1986	Golden State Warriors
1986–1994	Chicago Bulls (assistant)
1994–1996	Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
1996–1998	Detroit Pistons (assistant)
2001–2003	Washington Wizards (assistant)
2003–2006	Chicago Bulls (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As Assistant Coach: 3× NBA champion (1991–1993)
Career BAA statistics
Points	119 (3.5 ppg)
Assists	25 (0.7 apg)
Games played	34
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1948 Basketball Association of America (BAA) Draft, and played 34 games for the Celtics.

Career

In 1950, at age 26, Bach became one of the nation's youngest head coaches at a major college when he took over the coaching job at Fordham. He spent 18 years there, taking seven Ram teams to post-season tourneys. From 1968 to 1978, he coached at Penn State, where he joined three old friends from Brown–Rip Engle, Joe Paterno and Joe McMullen. Although he led the Nittany Lions to five winning seasons, he would never reach the postseason.

Bach would later coach the Golden State Warriors for three years. He served as an interim coach in 1980, and then as the full-time coach from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Bach joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant and became the architect of the "Doberman defense", the aggressive defensive effort led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. After the team won three championships from 1991 to 1993, Bach moved on to coaching jobs with the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. His stint with the Wizards reunited him with Michael Jordan. He returned to the Bulls in 2003, and retired in 2006.

Later life

After retiring from basketball, Bach turned to painting. In 2007, thirty-two of his watercolors were put on display at the Sevan Gallery in Skokie, Illinois.

Death

Bach died on January 18, 2016, in Chicago at the age of 91. Bach's funeral was held two days later on January 20, 2016, at the Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago. As a World War II US Navy Ensign he was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.

BAA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played
FG%	Field-goal percentage
FT%	Free-throw percentage
APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1948–49	Boston	34	.286	.680	.7	3.5
Career		34	.286	.680	.7	3.5

Head coaching record

College basketball

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Fordham Rams (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1950–1963)
1950–51	Fordham	20–8	3–3	2nd
1951–52	Fordham	20–8	3–3	4th
1952–53	Fordham	19–8	4–2	3rd	NCAA First Round
1953–54	Fordham	18–6	3–1	2nd	NCAA First Round
1954–55	Fordham	18–9	3–2	3rd
1955–56	Fordham	11–14	2–2	6th
1956–57	Fordham	16–10	2–2	T–3rd
1957–58	Fordham	16–9	1–3	6th	NIT Quarterfinals
1958–59	Fordham	17–8	2–2	T–4th	NIT First Round
1959–60	Fordham	8–18	1–3	5th
1960–61	Fordham	7–16	0–3	7th
1961–62	Fordham	10–14	1–3	T–5th
1962–63	Fordham	18–8	4–1	1st	NIT First Round
Fordham Rams (Independent) (1963–1968)
1963–64	Fordham	9–11
1964–65	Fordham	15–12			NIT First Round
1965–66	Fordham	10–15
1966–67	Fordham	11–14
1967–68	Fordham	19–8			NIT Quarterfinals
Fordham:		265–193 (.579)	29–30 (.492)
Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1968–1976)
1968–69	Penn State	13–9
1969–70	Penn State	13–11
1970–71	Penn State	10–12
1971–72	Penn State	17–8
1972–73	Penn State	15–8
1973–74	Penn State	14–12
1974–75	Penn State	11–12
1975–76	Penn State	10–15
Penn State Nittany Lions (Eastern 8) (1976–1978)
1976–77	Penn State	11–15	5–5	T–1st
1977–78	Penn State	8–19	4–6	T–2nd
Penn State:		122–121 (.502)	9–11 (.450)
Total:		387–314(.552)
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

Professional basketball

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
GSW	1979–80	21	6	15	.286	6th in Pacific	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
GSW	1983–84	82	37	45	.451	5th in Pacific	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
GSW	1984–85	82	22	60	.268	6th in Pacific	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
GSW	1985–86	82	30	52	.366	6th in Pacific	-	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
Career		267	95	172	.356		-	-	-	.-

External links

• BasketballReference.com: Johnny Bach (as coach)
• BasketballReference.com: Johnny Bach (as player)
• NBA.com Coach File: John Bach
• John Bach at Find a Grave