Jim Snyder (coach)

{{Short description|American basketball coach (1919–1994)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{about other people|the former coach|Jim Snyder|James Snyder (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Jim Snyder

| image = Jim Snyder (coach).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Snyder in 1960

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|6|29}}

| birth_place = Canton, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|4|27|1919|6|29}}

| death_place = Palatine, Illinois, U.S.

| alma_mater = Ohio University

| player_years1 = 193?–1941

| player_team1 = Ohio

| coach_years1 = 1946–1949

| coach_team1 = Ohio (assist.)

| coach_years2 = 1949–1974

| coach_team2 = Ohio

| overall_record = 354–245

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

James E. Snyder (June 29, 1919 – April 27, 1994){{cite book|last1=Office of Vital Records|title=Ohio Birth Records|publisher=State of Ohio|location=Columbus, Ohio|pages=State File Number: 1919053284}} was a college basketball head coach and former player. He attended Ohio University where he played basketball under head coach Dutch Trautwein. He was an assistant coach under Trautwein for three seasons beginning in 1946.{{Cite web|title=Jim Snyder|url=https://collegehoopedia.com/coaches/jim-snyder|access-date=2022-01-31|website=College Hoopedia|language=en}} After Trautwein's retirement he became the head coach of the Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team where he remained for 26 years (1949–1974). He amassed 20 winning seasons and led his teams to 7 NCAA tournament appearances (1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1972, and 1974) and one National Invitation Tournament appearance (1969). Snyder's teams compiled a 355-255 record, good for a .581 winning percentage. He is the all time leader in coaching wins at Ohio.{{Cite web|title=Jim Snyder|url=https://collegehoopedia.com/coaches/jim-snyder|access-date=2022-01-31|website=College Hoopedia|language=en}} He was also an Ohio graduate (Class of 1941), and was a football and basketball star as an undergraduate in the late 1930s and early 1940s.{{Cite web|title=Jim Snyder Facts|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/jim-snyder/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Coaches Database|language=en}} He played for and was an assistant under Dutch Trautwein. He was inducted the Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 1967 and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.{{Cite web|title=KERMIT BLOSSER OHIO ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME|url=https://ohiobobcats.com/sports/2021/5/13/information-hall-of-fame-index.aspx|access-date=2022-02-03|website=Ohio University Athletics|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Jim Snyder|url=https://ohiobasketballhalloffame.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/2007/jim-snyder.html#:~:text=In%201967%2C%20Snyder%20was%20inducted%20into%20the%20Ohio,stood%20for%20in%20character%2C%20academics%2C%20sportsmanship%20and%20attitude.|access-date=2022-02-02|website=Ohio Basketball Hall Of Fame|language=en}} One of his most memorable wins came against the University of Kentucky in the 1964 NCAA tournament, advancing the Ohio Bobcats to the Elite 8.{{cite web|title=Snyder, Ex-Ohio U coach, dies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19940428&id=3CghAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TXwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3101,3128535|website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|publisher=Sarasota Herald Tribune|accessdate= February 22, 2015|pages=3C|date=April 28, 1994}} One interesting aspect of this game was that Ohio had an integrated team while Kentucky had one of its last all white teams. Snyder was widely admired throughout the college basketball coaching fraternity as being a coach with great integrity and an engaging personality; he was often referred to as "Gentleman Jim." When he retired he was replaced by his long time assistant Dale Bandy.{{cite web|title=A ROUNDUP OF THE WEEK MARCH 11-17|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1974/03/25/a-roundup-of-the-week-march-1117|publisher=Sports Illustrated|accessdate=February 9, 2022|date=March 25, 1974}}