John Kundla
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 3, 1916 Star Junction, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| High school | Minneapolis Central (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| College | Minnesota (1936–1939) |
| Coaching career | 1946–1968 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1946–1947 | St. Thomas (MN) |
| 1947–1959 | Minneapolis Lakers |
| 1959–1968 | Minnesota |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Basketball Hall of Fame as coach | |
|
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
|
John Albert Kundla (born July 3, 1916) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), serving 12 seasons, from 1947 to 1959. His teams won six league championships, one in the NBL, one in the BAA, and four in the NBA. Kundla was the head basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis for one season in 1946–47, and at the University of Minnesota for ten seasons, from 1959 to 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Born in the mining town of Star Junction, Pennsylvania, to an Austro-Hungarian mother, Kundla moved to Minneapolis at age 5.
After attending and playing basketball for Minneapolis Central High School, which closed in 1982, Kundla attended the University of Minnesota and was a standout for the Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball the late 1930s. Following graduation, he stayed on at the university as an assistant coach to Dave MacMillan. He then moved to the high school ranks as the head coach of DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After two years there, the United States entered World War II, and Kundla joined the Navy, where he was assigned to LST units in both the European and Pacific theaters. After the war, he was hired to coach the College of St. Thomas.
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