Walter Skidmore

Walter Skidmore
Skidmore pictured in Yackety yak 1936, UNC yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1903-11-19)November 19, 1903
Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 13, 1993(1993-04-13) (aged 89)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1935–1939North Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall65–25
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1938 - Southern Conference regular season
1936 - Southern Conference Tournament

Walter Dennis Skidmore (November 19, 1903 – April 13, 1993) was an American basketball coach. he was best known for being the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team from 1935 through 1939.[1] Skidmore had a record of 65–25 with the Tar Heels and led his team to win the Southern Conference Tournament in 1936 and Southern Conference regular season championship in 1938.[2] In his last year of coaching, Skidmore coached George Glamack who went on to become a star player at North Carolina.[3] Skidmore took over coaching after Bo Shepard left as head coach due to health problems.[4] Skidmore was a native of Harlan County, Kentucky, and the son of a coal miner. He attended Centre College in Kentucky, graduating in 1926.[5][6] Before becoming the head basketball coach at North Carolina, Skidmore had coached the North Carolina junior varsity and Charlotte High School teams.[7][5][8] He retired from coaching in 1939 and moved to Letcher County, Kentucky. From 1955 to 1970, Skidmore operated the Tar Heel Motel in Clinton, North Carolina.[6] In April 1993, Skidmore died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at age 89.

  1. ^ "Skidmore Is Cage Coach". The Christian Science Monitor. November 27, 1935.
  2. ^ Rappoport 2002, p. 18
  3. ^ Powell 2005, p. 29
  4. ^ Powell 2005, p. 27
  5. ^ a b "Coach Collins Out at North Carolina" (PDF). The New York Times. December 11, 1933.
  6. ^ a b "Deaths: Walter Skidmore". Harlan Daily Enterprise. April 15, 1993.
  7. ^ Powell 2005, p. 41
  8. ^ "Names of 20 Prospective Coaches to Be Considered at Raleigh" (PDF). The News and Courier. December 20, 1933. Retrieved September 16, 2011.