Ken Norton (basketball)

Ken Norton
	Norton, c. 1957
Biographical details
Born	May 7, 1914; Long Island, New York, U.S.
Died	July 11, 1996 (aged 82); Hendersonville, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1934–1937	LIU
1937–1938	New York Jewels
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1938–1942	La Salle Military Academy
1946–1968	Manhattan
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1949–1979	Manhattan
Head coaching record
Overall	300–205 (.594)
Tournaments	NCAA: 1–3 (.250); NIT: 2–9 (.182); NAIA: 2–1 (.667)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	4x Metro NY Conference championships (1949, 1953, 1955, 1959); 2x MCC championships (1966, 1967)

Kenneth Anthony Norton (May 7, 1914 – July 11, 1996) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Manhattan Jaspers from 1946 to 1968.^[1]

Nicknamed "Red", Norton played high school baseball and basketball at Jamaica High School in Queens,^[2] and played college basketball under coach Clair Bee at Long Island University (LIU).^[3] Norton received a bachelor's degree from LIU, and a master's degree from New York University.^[4] He played basketball professionally for the New York Jewels of the American Basketball League.^[5] Prior to taking the job at Manhattan, Norton spent four seasons as the head coach at the La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, New York.^[6] He served in the Navy during World War II.^[4]

Norton coached Manhattan to a 300–205 record, winning six conference championships and leading the team to eleven postseason appearances, including two Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and six National Invitation Tournament (NIT) tourneys.^[7] At the time of his death, The New York Times reported that he was the top winning coach in the school's history. His 1957–58 team upset the top seed West Virginia Mountaineers, led by Jerry West, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In the early 1950s Norton guided one of his players, Junius Kellogg, in initiating and assisting an investigation that led to the uncovering of substantial point shaving activity that was taking place in college basketball at the time.^[8] Kellogg had been approached by former Manhattan players Hank Poppe and Jack Byrnes to fix games.

After stepping away from coaching basketball, Norton, who also coached baseball and golf at Manhattan, stayed on as the school’s athletic director until his retirement in 1979. In 1977, he led the Jaspers to the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) Intercollegiate Championship.^[9]

Norton was inducted into the Jasper Hall of Fame in 1989.^[10]

Norton died in 1996 at age 82 in Hendersonville, North Carolina.^[11]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Manhattan Jaspers (Metropolitan New York Conference) (1946–1963)
1946–47	Manhattan	13–13	1–5	5th
1947–48	Manhattan	22–6	3–3	T–3rd	NAIA Quarterfinals
1948–49	Manhattan	18–8	5–1	T–1st	NIT First Round
1949–50	Manhattan	14–11	3–3	T–3rd
1950–51	Manhattan	16–6	3–2	T–3rd
1951–52	Manhattan	12–9	4–2	T–2nd
1952–53	Manhattan	20–6	6–0	1st	NIT Fourth Place
1953–54	Manhattan	15–11	3–3	T–3rd	NIT First Round
1954–55	Manhattan	18–5	6–0	1st	NIT First Round
1955–56	Manhattan	16–8	4–1	2nd	NCAA first round
1956–57	Manhattan	5–9	2–2	T–3rd	NIT Quarterfinals
1957–58	Manhattan	16–10	3–1	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1958–59	Manhattan	15–6	4–0	1st	NIT First Round
1959–60	Manhattan	13–11	2–2	4th
1960–61	Manhattan	8–11	1–2	5th
1961–62	Manhattan	12–10	1–3	T–5th
1962–63	Manhattan	9–14	0–4	7th
Manhattan Jaspers (Independent) (1963–1965)
1963–64	Manhattan	11–11
1964–65	Manhattan	13–11			NIT Quarterfinals
Manhattan Jaspers (Metropolitan Collegiate Conference) (1965–1968)
1965–66	Manhattan	13–9	8–1	1st	NIT First Round
1966–67	Manhattan	13–8	7–2	T–1st
1967–68	Manhattan	8–14	3–5	7th
Manhattan:		300–205 (.594)	69–42 (.622)
Total:		300–205 (.594)
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

^ "Ken Norton". Peach Basket Society. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ Demasio, Nunyo (July 16, 1996). "Ex-Jasper Coach Ken Norton Dies". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
^ "L. I. U. Nine to Play Most of Games Away". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 27, 1935. Retrieved December 22, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Norton, Chief of NIT, Will Speak In Troy". The Troy Record. Troy, New York. March 2, 1960. Retrieved December 22, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Norton, Eastment Move Up in Jasper Athletic Picture". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 19, 1949. Retrieved December 22, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Manhattan Names Norton". The New York Times. July 30, 1946.
^ "Kenneth Norton". Sports Reference - College Basketball. Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ "Player Profile, Ken Norton". Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ "MGA Intercollegiate Championship History". Metropolitan Golf Association. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^ "Jasper Hall of Fame – 1989". gojaspers.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
^ Diamos, Jason (July 16, 1996). "Ken Norton, 82, Former Coach Of Basketball at Manhattan". New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2017.