Several times each week, Johnny Bach would find a quiet place in his home and put pen to paper, his exquisite cursive detailing observations or words of encouragement intended for coaches — some he knew, some he didn’t — around the country.
Bach, who died Monday at 91 from complications following a stroke, was a lot of things: Accomplished coach at the collegiate and NBA levels over a 56-year career. A decorated World War II veteran. A minor-league baseball player. An NBA player who played basketball for Vince Lombardi, starred at Fordham and also studied at Brown of the Ivy League. An accomplished painter of watercolors.
But above all, Bach, the defensive-minded assistant coach under Phil Jackson during the Bulls’ first three-peat from 1991-93, was a sharer of knowledge, a generous soul.
“Coach Bach was truly one of the greatest basketball minds of all-time,” Michael Jordan said in a statement released to the Tribune. “He taught me so much, encouraged me, worked with me and really helped to mold my professional game. Without him, I don’t know that we would’ve won our first three championships. He was more than a coach to me. He was a great friend. I am deeply saddened to hear of his passing.”
That the greats of the game voiced their love for Bach shouldn’t surprise. He offered so much of it behind the scenes — some from the “tough love” category — that it resonated for life.
“I love Johnny Bach,” said Doug Collins, who hired him for his staffs on the Bulls, Pistons and Wizards, by phone. “He taught me so much about the game and about life.”
Known as the architect of the Bulls’ “Doberman” defense, Bach drew widespread credit for his defensive tactics and unconventional motivational tactics. A decorated war veteran who was one of the first military occupiers of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing, Bach would sprinkle speeches and film sessions with military references and drop the ace of spades — the card of death — for big victories.
“You had to be athletic to play it but you know what that Doberman defense was built on? Trust. Who created that trust? Johnny,” said Horace Grant in a phone interview. “If Michael went for a steal and didn’t get it, he knew Scottie (Pippen) and I would have his back.”
Bach and Grant shared a special bond. Both were twins; Johnny’s twin brother, Neil, was lost at sea in 1944 during World War II.
“He related to my personality,” an emotional Grant said. “We could talk about anything. It’s just something about being a twin. And we talked about that a lot. But it was something deeper than that. I needed a father figure that could connect with me on more than a coach basis. Sometimes, the advice he gave me was tough to swallow. But I did and 99.9 percent of the time, he was right.”
Pippen said via Twitter: “Johnny’s old war stories were fascinating and more importantly they helped us realize what it meant to come together as a team.”
Born in Brooklyn in 1924, Bach played 24 games with the Boston Celtics before Fordham hired him in 1950 as one of the nation’s youngest major college coaches.
Bach spent 18 seasons there and remains the school’s all-time winningest coach before moving to Penn State for 10 seasons. During this stretch, legendary coach Henry Iba tabbed Bach to assist the 1972 U.S. Olympic team, for which he coached Collins and which lost that controversial gold-medal game to Russia.
The bitter experience was one reason Bach took a one-year break from coaching to fly commercial planes after returning to Penn State. From there, Bach moved to the NBA and served as the Warriors coach from 1983-86.
That’s when Collins and then-Bulls’ general manager Jerry Krause hired Bach, who teamed with close friend and offensive guru Tex Winter on a legendary staff. Bach penned weekly letters to Winter over the last seven years after Winter suffered a stroke that left him incapacitated and unable to respond.
“He was brilliantly organized. That comes from his military background. Every I was dotted and every T crossed,” Collins said. “He had such a great feel for people. He might give you a gruff exterior. But he had a heart of gold and a sensitive spirit.
“He would always call me Paul Douglas Collins, my full name. He would say to me, ‘That mistake you’re about to make, I’ve already made.'”
Bach overcame a near-death experience in 1995 when he actually flat-lined after a serious heart attack before doctors used a defibrillator to revive him.
Bach moved to assistant jobs in Charlotte, Detroit and Washington. The last stop is where he developed a strong friendship with fellow assistant Patrick Ewing. The Hall of Famer received the first Johnny Bach Award from Fordham in 2012, given annually to the individual who has had lasting impact on basketball and embodies Bach’s drive and passion.
Other winners include P.J. Carlesimo, Jackson and Collins.
“My condolences go out to his wife, Mary, and his entire family,” Ewing said in a statement released to the Tribune. “He was instrumental in teaching me what it takes to be a coach in this league. We developed a close bond through the years.”
John Paxson brought Bach back to the Bulls in July 2003 as one of his first moves after succeeding Krause. He stopped coaching in 2006 but remained actively involved as an occasional consultant.
“He took pride in the fact that he never missed a day of work for any reason,” Paxson said. “He was a product of that generation when there was personal pride in showing up and doing your job each day and he did so with energy and enthusiasm. You didn’t see Coach Bach have a bad day.”
Bach spent his post-NBA years pursuing his passion of painting and had a Skokie art gallery display his watercolor work in a 2007 exhibit. He also volunteer coached at local high schools and for wheelchair basketball teams.
As recently as Bulls’ training camp, Bach was on the sidelines, viewing practices. Coach Fred Hoiberg said he treasured his talks with Bach.
“Just a remarkable man,” said broadcaster Stacey King, who has an ace of spaces tattoo on his forearm in tribute to his coach. “Every time you saw him, he was so full of life.”
He is survived by Mary Sweeney Bach, his wife of 20 years, and his five children, John, Eileen, Donna, Brendan and Kieran, as well as nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and preceded in passing by his twin brother Neil, a pilot lost at sea in World War II, and his grandson Nick.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Department of Cardiology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in honor of Neil J. Stone, M.D., and Old St. Patrick’s Church.
Visitation is 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Old St. Patrick’s Church, 700 W. Adams St., with funeral mass immediately following.
Twitter @kcjhoop
