Lenny Sachs was the first professional coach of Loyola basketball, guiding the Ramblers in the program’s infancy, and eventually as Loyola Athletic Director. He won a lot of games. And he is, indeed, in the National Basketball Hall of Fame. But as Paul Harvey might say, there is so much more to the story.
Sachs was a prolific athlete at Chicago’s Schurz High School, and earned 11 varsity letters before he graduated in 1914. He joined the U.S. Navy during World War I, and was named honorable mention on the all-service football team in 1918. Returning to Chicago in 1919, Sachs attended the American College of Physical Education near Diversey and Sheffield. To work his way through college, he coached basketball at Wendell Phillips High School from 1919-1921, and at Marshall High School from 1921-1923. He led Marshall to the city’s basketball title in 1922.
