Wilbur Braithwaite

Wilbur T. Braithwaite
Biographical details
Born(1926-05-24)May 24, 1926
Manti, Utah
DiedApril 12, 2010(2010-04-12) (aged 83)
Manti, Utah
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1988Manti High School (Utah) basketball
1951–2005Manti High School (Utah) tennis
Head coaching record
Overall534–267 (basketball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
11 Utah state tennis (1953, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1993, 1994)
1 Utah state basketball (1966)
Awards
Utah Coach of the Year (1966)
Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (UIAAA) Director of the Year (1982)
President, Utah High School Basketball Coaches Association (1983–1984)
UHSAA Coaching Award (1987–1988)
UHSAA 2A Coach of the Year (1988)
Utah Summer Games Hall of Honor (1988)
NFHS National High School Hall of Fame (1989)
UIAAA Distinguished Service Award (1989)
Olympic Torch Bearer for Manti, Utah (2002)
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Award of Merit (2006)
Records
0 technical fouls in 37 years as basketball coach

Wilbur T. Braithwaite (May 24, 1926 – April 12, 2010) was a high school basketball and tennis coach for Manti High School. He was honored with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) award of Merit in 2006,[1] and was selected as an Olympic torch bearer for his city Manti, Utah, on February 5, 2002.[2]

"Coach" was also known as a poet, philosopher, business-owner, musician, composer, and pen-pal. He is believed to have written thousands of uplifting, hand-written letters over his life [3] to people all over the country including coaches John Wooden and Bob Knight.[4]

  1. ^ "Wilbur Braithwaite (Utah) Award of Merit 2006". NFHS. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  2. ^ "Torch bearers". Church News. 2002-02-02. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  3. ^ Doug Robinson (2010-04-14). "Wilbur Braithwaite's loss felt by many". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  4. ^ Wharton, Tom (2010-04-12). "Legendary Manti High School coach was also a philosopher". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-16.