John Benington

John Benington
Benington in 1964
Biographical details
Born(1921-12-31)December 31, 1921
Findlay, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 10, 1969(1969-09-10) (aged 47)
East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Playing career
1945–1949San Francisco
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950–1956Michigan State (assistant)
1956–1958Drake
1958–1965Saint Louis
1965–1969Michigan State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1964–1965Saint Louis
Head coaching record
Overall299–203
Tournaments3–4 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big Ten regular season (1967)

John E. Benington (December 31, 1921 – September 10, 1969)[1] was an American college basketball coach.

The Findlay, Ohio native played college basketball for two seasons at the University of San Francisco, where he captained the squad that won the 1949 National Invitation Tournament under Pete Newell. He then became assistant basketball coach at Michigan State University (1950–1956) under Newell and Forddy Anderson.

He served a combined 14 seasons as head men's basketball coach at Drake University (1956–1958), St. Louis University (1958–1965) and Michigan State (1965–1969). He led Saint Louis to four NIT appearances including the finals of the 1961 NIT where they lost to Providence.

Benington died of a massive heart attack at age 47 after jogging.[2] He was found after hours in Jenison Fieldhouse by his wife and freshman coach.[1]

  1. ^ a b Seibold, Jack (October 1, 2003). The Spartan Sports Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-58261-219-5.
  2. ^ "2016-17 Michigan State Spartans Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2017-05-19.