1938–39 Oregon Webfoots men's basketball team

The 1937–38 Webfoots posted a win–loss record of 14–6 in Pacific Coast Conference play. In the conference's North division, the Webfoots won the title by a one-game margin over Washington. The Webfoots were led by Lauren Gale, who was the PCC North division's leader in scoring with 12.5 points per game in conference play; his overall average was 12.4. Oregon advanced to the best-of-three PCC championship series, but lost two consecutive games to Stanford by margins of 52–39 and 59–51. That ended the team's hopes of being crowned PCC champions. Following the decisive game of the series, player Bobby Anet said at a team meeting, "Next year, we're going to win everything." ==Roster and schedule==

was the Webfoots' head coach in 1938–39 Oregon's entire starting lineup returned from the 1937–38 team that had lost in the conference championship playoff; Newspaper editor L. H. Gregory called the Oregon team the "Tall Firs" due to the height of the team's players, since Oregon was taller than most other teams of the era. Eight of the eleven men on the roster came from Oregon, and the other three from neighboring Washington. Anet and Johansen, along with forwards Earl Sandness and Ted Sarpola, had played for Astoria High School; Anet and Johansen had won multiple state championships before joining Oregon. Along with Mullen, the Webfoots' reserves included guard Matt Pavalunas and forwards Bob Hardy and Ted Sarpola. The team normally played up to nine players in a game, foregoing a regular substitute for Wintermute; when he needed a rest, Dick or Gale often changed positions to play center, allowing for a third forward to be inserted into the lineup. The Webfoots' head coach was Howard Hobson, who was in his fourth season on the job. Oregon's preferred offensive game plan was to play an attacking fast break style of basketball. In response, opposing teams with shorter players often played a slower-paced offense. Dick said of the team's attack that "We wanted to keep the pressure on (the opponent) mentally – more so than physically. Never give them a moment's rest." When inbounding the ball, the Webfoots often restarted play quickly to maintain their fast pace. Hobson frequently tracked Oregon's attempted shots in both competition and practice sessions, and built the offense around his players' strengths. On defense, the team switched between zone and man-to-man styles depending on how its opponent played. ==Regular season==

, Oregon's home arena during the 1938–39 season, in 2006 The Webfoots began the 1938–39 season by defeating Portland 51–24 on November 29, 1938. Oregon's second game was also against a team based in Portland, which represented the Multnomah Athletic Club. The Webfoots won by an 83–25 final score. In a closer game with a team representing Signal Oil, Oregon stretched its winning streak to three games with a 46–34 triumph. Following those games, the Webfoots embarked on a long trip through the Eastern United States; they were the first college basketball team from the West Coast to do so. Nine games were set up in as many cities, with eight held on the East Coast and one in San Francisco before the team returned home. Despite Oregon's comeback attempt, CCNY won 38–36 to hand the Webfoots their first loss of the season. The trip continued on December 19 with a game at Convention Hall in Philadelphia, against local team Saint Joseph's. Oregon won easily by a 54–44 margin, as Gale and Wintermute led the Webfoots with 13 points each. Starting with the St. Joseph's game, the Webfoots had a streak in which they played four games in five days before Christmas Eve. The Webfoots then defeated Canisius by a 12-point margin. After the Miami (Ohio) game, Wintermute missed three of the team's following four games. The Webfoots won without him in their next two games, but not in the game in which he returned to action against Bradley. In Peoria, Illinois, Oregon fell behind by 17 points at halftime and lost 52–39, as Bradley center Dar Hutchins tallied 17 points while defended by Wintermute, who was playing through his ankle injury. Following their loss to Bradley, Oregon traveled to the Chicago Coliseum for a game against Western Illinois State Teachers College. Despite being without the services of Wintermute again, the Webfoots posted a 60–45 victory. Drake, the Webfoots' opponent on December 29 in Chicago, was defeated by 11 points. Conference play The Webfoots then entered play in the PCC, with four games scheduled against each of the four other teams in the conference's Northern Division; Oregon hosted each club twice and played two games at all opposing teams' arenas. At the beginning of 1939, the Webfoots began its PCC schedule with consecutive home games against Washington State on January 6 and 7. They lost the second, 39–34, for their only home defeat of the season; the loss broke a 23-game winning streak at McArthur Court, the Webfoots' arena. Oregon then began a 10-game winning streak, their longest since the start of the 1937–38 season. Oregon State was the Webfoots' first opponent during the streak, on January 13; Oregon prevailed 31–26. In two higher-scoring contests at Washington State on January 17 and 18, the Webfoots claimed 56–44 and 57–31 victories, respectively. A five-game road trip concluded with games in Idaho on January 20 and 21. The contests were closer than those against Washington State, but the Webfoots won 38–30 in the first game and 35–31 in the second to improve to 6–1 in conference play. which would be their last of the season. Six days later, Oregon posted a 48–37 win over the Beavers at home. Of the Huskies' five losses in 1938–39, all but one was against the Webfoots. ==Postseason==

PCC championship series By winning the PCC Northern Division, Oregon earned the right to play the winner of the Southern Division in a best-of-three playoff series, with the games held at McArthur Court. In response, Oregon declared that they would not play if the series was scheduled to end after March 14. Despite the school's claim, it agreed to a rescheduling approved by PCC member schools, in which the series was set for March 16–18. Hobson declared that Oregon would accept an invitation to the NCAA tournament, following hints that the PCC champion might be passed over for a bid in favor of a PCC team that did not receive a shortened rest between games. California won the Southern Division playoff 42–36 over Southern California to become the Webfoots' opponent in the PCC championship series. Dick later noted that he considered it vital for Oregon to sweep the Golden Bears in two games, to avoid an overnight trip to San Francisco for the NCAA tournament and secure an off day in the Webfoots' schedule. In front of a crowd that included members of the Webfoots' 1919 conference championship team, which had won the title over California, Oregon took a one-point halftime lead on a late 30-foot shot by Johansen. The team switched its defense from zone to man-to-man for the second half and went on an early second half run to open up a 14-point lead with 12 minutes left. The Golden Bears made multiple comeback bids as the half progressed, but the Webfoots held on to win 54–49 and move ahead in the series. More than half of Oregon's points were scored by Gale and Wintermute, who had 18 and 11 respectively. NCAA tournament , site of the 1939 NCAA national championship game Oregon received an invitation to the NCAA tournament's West Regional, which was held on March 20 and 21 in San Francisco. The Webfoots scored 10 of the game's first 12 points, led by Dick and Wintermute, and held a three-point halftime advantage. After Texas had closed their deficit to one point multiple times in the second half, Oregon went on a scoring run and eventually opened a 19-point lead. The Webfoots defeated Texas by a final score of 56–41. Wintermute had 14 points in the game, and Dick added 13. In the regional final against Oklahoma, a 10–0 run to close the first half put the Webfoots in front, 21–14. Oregon took advantage of Oklahoma's strategy of attempting to play a fast-paced game and extended their lead in the second half. Dick had 14 points and Gale and Wintermute scored 11 and 10, respectively, as Oregon advanced to the national championship game with a 55–37 victory. All three of the Webfoots' leading scorers in the regional final were selected to the all-Western regional squad, as determined by Kansas head coach Phog Allen. Hobson commented on his team's NCAA tournament opponents that "We were head and shoulders above [both], but not so with Washington and California." The title game was held on March 27 in Northwestern University's Patten Gymnasium. On the team's way back to the University of Oregon, a crowd of 2,000–3,000 people greeted the Webfoots in The Dalles, Dick's birthplace, and presented him with what Sporting News writer Joe Gergen called "the first championship watch in NCAA Tournament history." ==Aftermath and legacy==

At the end of the season, Anet, Gale, and Wintermute were selected as All-Americans. In the 1939–40 season, the Webfoots were unable to defend their PCC championship, finishing second behind Oregon State in the division; the following season, all but one of the players from the championship team had graduated, and the Webfoots ended tied for third. The team did not win the Northern Division again until 1944–45. Hobson left the program before the 1947–48 season to become Yale's men's basketball head coach. Gale and Wintermute later played professional basketball in the National Basketball League; both were members of the same team, the Detroit Eagles, and Anet declined an offer to join them. Dick briefly played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball before embarking on a military career of over 30 years after the U.S. entered World War II. Anet and Johansen joined a Eugene, Oregon-based AAU team, the Rubenstein's Oregonians, and helped the club win a state title and reach the quarterfinals of the AAU's national basketball tournament in 1940. Bob Hardy and Mullen both played minor league baseball, and Mullen reached the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944. Hobson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1965, and Gale followed him into the Hall 12 years later. The entire 1938–39 Oregon team was enshrined in the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and Anet, Dick, Gale, Hobson, Johansen, and Wintermute were inducted as individuals. The University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame selected the team and Hobson as part of its inaugural class of inductees in 1992. Dick and Gale (1993), Wintermute (1994), and Anet and Johansen (1996) were also inducted in later years. All five of the team's starters have had their numbers retired by the university. Oregon's appearance in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament was the only one in program history until the 2016–17 season. ==Notes==